Small Town, USA
by musicforlife101
Summary: The team is sent to a small town on a case. Kinda songfic. TIVA established MCABBY JIBBS in later chapters. Rated T to be safe for later chapters. slight AU, judgement day didn't happen.
1. Woodland

Disclaimer: None of the characters you recognize are mine

**Disclaimer: None of the characters you recognize are mine! They belong to Donald Bellisario and the other rightful owners of NCIS. I also don't own any of the music that will be quoted or referenced.**

**Note: This is my first posted story, I've been writing for years but I haven't had anyone really read any of my stuff since I was in elementary school, with the exception of essays for school. I would appreciate any constructive criticism, but only criticism with the intent to further my writing, if you're just going to review to be mean for no reason I would really prefer you didn't review at all. Thank you. Oh and any future characters whose opinions are controversial or offense will most likely not be treated kindly throughout the story. I enjoy tormenting the characters I don't agree with but I'm realistic, I know they exist.**

**Sorry this first chapter is so long. I don't think they will all be quite this long. Unless you guys review and ask for specifically long, medium, or short chapters they will probably vary greatly in length.**

_**Chapter 1: Woodland**_

Mossad Officer Ziva David sat at her desk in the bullpen at NCIS HQ. It was late afternoon on a Thursday. Needless to say everyone wanted to go home, there was nothing to do but run down dead end leads for cold cases and review paperwork. All anyone could do was hope that tomorrow would be slightly less boring. As she looked around at her teammates she couldn't help but notice the little quirks that were so obvious on boring days like this one.

McGee sat at his desk hunched over a piece of paper, alternately scribbling notes (presumably for his next book based on all of them) and sleeping on his arms. Tony was leaning back in his chair with his hands linked behind his head while bopping his head to the music on his iPod and occasionally mouthing the words to whatever song happened to be playing. Gibbs was nowhere to be seen. She assumed he was in one of three places: Abby's lab, Autopsy with Ducky, or in the Director's office.

She looked over at Tony's desk and let out a silent sigh. _Get a grip, David! He doesn't think of you that way. Get used to it!_ She thought to herself. Trying to get her mind off her partner sitting almost directly in her sightline, she attempted to busy herself with end-of-day tasks, but to no avail.

She reached up and began to straighten her ponytail, using her blank computer monitor as a mirror. Then she reached down and smoothed the wrinkles out of her blouse and pants. By this time she could feel Tony watching her as best he could without making it too obvious. Knowing he was paying attention made her uncomfortable. She still couldn't wrap her mind --head? Mind? Whatever-- around the fact that she could stare down men three times her size and confront terrorists and murderers and disarm bombs while her friends watched and not even flinch, but the thought that Anthony Dinozzo was staring at her when he didn't think she was looking made her suddenly self conscious.

She could feel her cheeks beginning to blush, she tried to keep her cool but she knew he could see her face begin to turn red. She wanted to tell him but she couldn't figure out how and she certainly wouldn't do it with McGee in the room. The conversation would be awkward enough without an awkward spectator taking notes or recording it to show Abby later. So instead she decided to redirect and cover it all up.

"Did you need something Tony?" she said with an exasperated sigh as she looked up from her lap. "Or were you just admiring the view?" She smiled mischievously.

He was slightly taken aback, he had no idea she'd seen him staring at her. But he recovered quickly. "Just thinking." Was his simple and hurried response.

"Thinking about what?"

"How boring it is around here for a Thursday, and wondering how much more boring tomorrow will be. I want a case so I won't be bored, but I don't want to work this weekend. I'm just not sure which I want more." He covered. _Wow. I guess I can think on my feet, or butt really, when I need to._ He thought. Ziva nodded in agreement and they were both lost in daydreams once again.

They were so lost in thought they barely registered that Gibbs had descended the stairs from Director Jennifer Shepard's office and entered the bullpen with a brand new case.

THUD! Gibbs dropped the case file loudly onto his desk gaining Tony and Ziva's attention and waking Tim from his slumber. They stared at him expectantly all slowly realizing where he was and what he had been doing while they were waiting for the longest Thursday in history to end.

"Pack your bags. We leave for Washington State in the morning. SecNav requested us on a case involving a dead Marine found dead in a small town shortly after returning from Iraq. Be at the airport by 0500. Flight leaves at 0700, no excuses for being late." He said as he dropped plane tickets onto their desks.

"How long we gonna be there, boss?" Tony asked inquisitively. Gibbs' glare told him that he definitely would have to cancel his date for Friday night and that he should be packing at least a week's worth of clothes.

"Petty Officer Miller was found in the town of Woodland where his parents and fiancée live. Tony, you and Ziva will drive there from the airport in Vancouver, Washington to interview his friends and family. You will also make sure the evidence is properly stored and packed then have it overnighted to Abby. McGee and I will stay in Vancouver to talk to his CO and the rest of the base as well as coordinate with the state police."

"Where exactly is this place?" Ziva asked. It didn't sound very big to her.

"About 20 miles north of Vancouver. According to the website Jen printed out for me it is 'the southern gateway to Mt. St. Helens.' It has a population of about 5,100 in the city limits. Another 5,000 in the surrounding areas. It's a very small town Ziva, most of the country doesn't even know it exists. You guys are booked at the Lewis River Inn. You have one room, deal with it. There is apparently (gestures to Jen's office) some sort of festival going on. And the main observation post at the volcano is having some event, too. They booked all the rooms and they won't spring for a nicer motel." He handed Ziva the reservation confirmation as he explained. Tony and Ziva looked at each other, both attempting to seem frustrated with the situation when in actuality neither was bothered as much as they should have been.

They all sat there for a moment, not really sure what to do now. "Go home! Sleep. Pack. Be there at 0500." Gibbs barked. His team started to pack up as he walked to the elevator forcing them to wait for it to return. McGee grabbed his stuff and made his way to Abby's lab, leaving Tony and Ziva alone to finish packing up for the day.

"So Ziva…wanna carpool to the airport?"

"No Tony. I see no point in placing my car in a swimming pool, and I do not know how that would even get us to the airport."

"Carpool, Ziva. It's where you ride with someone in the same car, to save gas, or maybe to split the cost of parking." He replied with a hopeful expression.

"Oh. Well in that case I do not see why not. It seems to be a good idea, even if you are a cheapskate." She smiled. They began walking to the elevator. "Tony…?"

"Yeah?"

"Why is it called a carpool if it has nothing to do with cars in pools?"

"Well….. um, I actually don't know Ziva. It's just a thing y'know? No one knows where it came from, they just say it." She nodded as the doors closed. "So I'll pick you up at 0400?" He asked as they began their descent.

"Yes, that should be just fine. I will see you then." She answered as she left the elevator and headed toward her mini Cooper. Tony watched her hips sway as she walked through the parking structure to her usual space. "And stop staring at my butt, Tony."

He just chuckled to himself. _That's my super ninja chick._ He got into his car and started his drive home.

_Meanwhile_

McGee walked into Abby's lab with his backpack slung over one shoulder ready to leave for the day. She was busy running evidence from cold cases dating back to the mid-80s and slurping a Caf-Pow. She immediately looked up when she heard him come in.

"Hey Abs! I have good news, bad news, and a question. Which would you like first?" He asked, using the goth's enthusiasm to his advantage. Only to be quickly smothered with a hug.

"I haven't seen you since this morning." She pouted, relinquishing her hold on his neck and shoulders. "And I would like the good news first please."

"I finally get to go home." He half-smiled. "The bad news is that I only get to go home because we're leaving early tomorrow for Washington State. And the question is, will you drive me to the airport, please? I really don't want to leave my car there Abby." He rambled.

"Aww. Poor Timmy. Pack lots of bug spray, you'll get bit by all those mosquitoes. And of course I'll take you to the airport!" She responded with a mix of compassion, concern and happiness. She hugged him one more time and told him to go home so he could pack and sleep and that she would be there at 0400 sharp to take him to the airport.

"Thanks Abs. I owe you."

"Promises, promises." She smiled. He leaned over and kissed cheek, then left for home.

**Note: The information about Woodland is all true. It is a real place. I've been there. The stuff I say in the coming chapters was true the last time I was there which was probably in the late 90s so if it's a little off now I'm sorry in advance.**

**The Lewis River Inn is a real place. I had to go look one up when I checked the distance from Vancouver. I never stayed in a motel when I was there. My Grandma lived there so I know the little things about the place.**

**The Vancouver mentioned is the one in Washington State not in Canada.**

**There was no song directly quoted here (there will be for sure in later chapters). But I did reference a song that I thought fit Ziva well. It's at the beginning. It's Things I'll Never Say by Avril Lavigne. You should listen to it. Or look it up on youtube, there is a Tiva vid on it there.**


	2. Carpools, Coffee, and Peanuts

Disclaimer: I'm trying to come up with something witty to say here

**Thank you all for the great reviews! I'll try to update as often as possible but it will probably slow down because I'm starting school soon, but I'll try to update at least once a week during school.**

**Disclaimer: I'm trying to come up with something witty to say here. Well NCIS and its characters don't belong to me. If they did things would be very different. Like Jen would never have died, or maybe witness protection (shrug), and Vance would probably be tortured to death by Ziva. Since that hasn't happened they obviously belong to someone with a different plan.**

**Note: I forgot to mention in the last chapter that if I make small grammatical or spelling errors I'm sorry. I'm human. If there is something glaringly wrong please let me know and I'll fix it. Also, I have no idea where the closest military base is to Woodland or Vancouver so I just stuck one in Vancouver. If there isn't one there then just make believe with me. And make believe that Judgement Day didn't happen either. **

_**Chapter 2: Carpools, Coffee, and Complimentary Peanuts**_

**0400 The next morning**

Ziva had been awake for an hour. She had showered, dressed, made coffee and was now waiting for Tony while sipping said coffee. _He's late. Just as I suspected. As long as we get to the airport on time I won't complain… much._

Rap-tap-tap. Tony knocked on Ziva's door. He was ten minutes late. _At least I brought breakfast, and it smells like she made coffee. And we won't be late._ She opened the door, she was dressed and her hair was almost dry. He was definitely right about the coffee, she had a steaming mug in her hand and her apartment smelled strongly of brewing coffee. He held up the bag with her scone in it as a peace offering.

"Sorry I'm late, but I got breakfast." He smiled his charming Dinozzo smile and she caved. She opened the door for him and walked back to the kitchen to pour him a cup of coffee. He dumped cream and sugar into his coffee in such high amounts Ziva began to wonder how he didn't gain any weight.

_Oh yeah. He's a man. Men don't have to worry about everything going to their hips._

He left his coffee on the countertop after checking that it was just right. "Let's go. Gibbs will kill us if we're late." He walked to the door quickly, picking up Ziva's bag on the way out.

"Tony! Your coffee!" She shouted after him.

"Grab it for me!" He shouted back from her doorway.

"Then how am I supposed to…. Tony! I am perfectly capable of carrying my own luggage." She said when she saw him with her duffel bag.

"I know you are. That doesn't mean I'm gonna let you carry it. I'm trying to be a gentleman. Just don't get used to it. I'm not gonna start carrying your gear for you."

"I should hope not, Tony." She agreed, mind reeling from his sudden and unexpected act of chivalry.

0459

"We're here, Boss. We're not late, we still have a whole minute." Tony gasped after their mad dash to find Gibbs before 0500.

SMACK. Gibbs had connected with Tony's head.

"What was that for? We were here on time!"

"For almost making you partner late because you hit the snooze button one too many times." Tony winced, that was exactly why they were almost late. What was Gibbs a psychic now? McGee was already there so they started the long and tedious security process.

0700

The plane took off. Tony looked around: the plane was alright as far as planes go. Ziva had the window seat, he had the aisle, Mcgee was across the aisle from him, and Gibbs was seated next to McGee.

"Whatcha doin' Elflord?" Tony asked. "Making notes on how Ziva and I sit on airplanes for your next book?" He grinned. McGee shot him a look which said _'No. Well yes but I'm not telling you 'cause you'll kill me.'_

_Jeez. _Tim thought to himself. _Is he that perceptive, or just a good guesser….. good guesser._ He jotted something quickly on his paper._ They make it too easy to use them. Even when Tony is talking to me his knee is brushing up against her leg. He just can't help himself._

Tony tapped Ziva on the shoulder lightly and she turned in her seat to face him. He held up his iPod and offered her an earbud. She grabbed it and put it in her ear leaning her seat back to prepare for the long flight. Tony did the same as he placed the iPod on shuffle.

_Take all of your wasted honor  
Every little past frustration  
Take all of your so-called problems  
Better put them in quotations_

_Say what you need to say_

'Great. My iPod is giving me advice on women with the woman in question sitting inches away from me.' Tony thought. 'Why must life be so cruel? Because it's right!' He answered himself. He knew good and well that he had to do something soon before it drove him crazy. He also knew that while he didn't really mind sharing a room with Ziva, it would definitely make it harder for him.

_Walking like a one man army  
Fighting with the shadows in your head  
Living out the same old moment  
Knowing you'd be better off instead  
If you could only_

_Say what you need to say_

'Is this iPod psychic? Does it have a Gibbs Gut or something?' Ziva thought as she looked down at the black iPod sitting on the armrest between them. 'It must. It couldn't be a coincidence. That would be against Gibbs' rules.' She knew that she was fighting with herself about sharing room with Tony, heck, about Tony in general. They would have to have a serious talk soon, but she knew that she might not be able to make herself do it.

_Have no fear for giving in  
Have no fear for giving over  
You better know that in the end  
It's better to say too much  
Than never to say what you need to say again_

Ziva took this as a new life lesson. She had always been one to keep things in, it kept others from getting close enough to hurt her, but it kept them safe, too. This was a wake up call though. If something happened and she had never said anything no one would ever know.

_Even if your hands are shaking  
And your faith is broken  
Even as the eyes are closing  
Do it with a heart wide open_

Tony figured it was a sign that being nervous and afraid of ruining their friendship and partnership was a terrible excuse. It worked for McGee and Abby. They kept it pretty well hidden from Gibbs, too.

Much to their relief the song changed and they could avoid looking at their emotions with a magnifying glass.

_Across the Aisle_

McGee scribbled notes. He took them for many reasons. His book was one, Abby was another, and his final reason was that he actually enjoyed people watching. He told very few people about this, but it was the reason he started writing. In his books he could show human nature and comment on it, and make the characters do what was right for them instead of playing it safe.

'Both visibly tense during song. Possibly an uncomfortable subject matter.' He wrote. 'Ziva is resting her head on Tony's shoulder. Now he is resting his head on hers. And now they're asleep.'

Just then the drink cart came by with free drinks and honey roasted peanuts. McGee ordered drinks and asked the stewardess to put them and the peanuts on Tony's tray table. They woke up about thirty minutes later to find their complimentary snacks right in front of them.

"Thanks Probilicious." Ziva nodded in agreement. "Soooo, Zee-vah. Let me look at the reservations for our motel." She dug them out of her carry on and handed him the online confirmation. "No pool. Not that that's a big deal, its not even warm in Washington yet. Karaoke on Friday and Saturday nights in the restaurant next door. I'm not complaining. We have a room with a view of the parking lot. Second floor. One king sized bed."

"What?!"

"C'mon Ziva. There are no other rooms and your other choice is to sleep in the rental car." He grinned at her.

"If anyone's sleeping in the rental car it's you."

"Dinozzo! David! Will you two shut up?! You're partners, share!" Gibbs growled from McGee's others side. Tony and Ziva looked at each other, shrugged and continued listening to Tony's iPod.

Ten minutes later the stewardess walked by to see if they needed anything else.

"Nope. Thanks." Tony replied quickly.

"Who is she?" Ziva asked as soon as the stewardess had left.

"Well that's the flight attendant, Ziva. Sometimes they are called stewardesses. I didn't…"

"Not the flight attendant, Tony! Your new girlfriend. I am guessing you are now seeing someone because you are not chasing after the pretty flight attendant. You barely even spoke to her." Ziva was curious and a little jealous, though she managed to only convey her curiosity.

"Suddenly not flirting with girls is an indicator that I have a girlfriend. Maybe I'm only going after one girl now. Did you think about that?"

"No. But there is still the question of 'Who is she?' Is she someone you just met, or have you known her for a while, or do you know her from work? I am curious, Tony. You are my partner." She added hastily, attempting to mask her fear and jealousy.

Tony sighed. He knew he wouldn't get away from this question. _So how do I describe Ziva in a way that even Ziva won't guess?_ "Well, I do know her from work. I've known her for a few years now. She's beautiful, and very fun to be around." _Phew. I hope she's done asking questions now._

"Do I know her? I have been here for a few years." She asked tentatively, not exactly sure if she wanted to know the answer. _So this whole time I have been here, having feelings for him he has been having feelings for someone else we work with._

Tony mentally cringed. _Ok. This could be a slight problem._ "Yeah, you know her. You know her better than you think." Ziva nodded. She wasn't sure what that meant but it was interesting nonetheless.

_Later_

As the plane began its descent the crew asked that all electronics be turned off and stored. Tony switched off his iPod and stuck it back in his carry on. They touched down and taxied into the gate. They grabbed their bags and got off the plane as fast as they could.

Down in baggage claim Gibbs was giving assignments.

"McGee, you stay here and get our bags while I get the car. Dinozzo, David, one of you get your car. Here's the directions to your hotel. Do not miss your freeway exit, there is only one for the town. Go now!" He made his way toward the car rental agency while Tim waited for their bags on the carousel.

"Ok Ziva. You get the bags, I'll get the car. I am not letting you drive." Ziva stuck her tongue out at him; he stuck his out in reply. She grudgingly complied and stood next to McGee. How it was that she had hers and Tony's bags so quickly McGee would never know.

She found him at the rental car. It was a Cobalt blue Chevy Malibu. She stuffed the bags into the trunk and climbed into the passenger seat.

"And we're off!" He flashed his 'Dinozzo grin' as they made their way to Interstate 5.

**Note: Well I was thinking that this would be shorter than the first one, but apparently not. Oh well.**

**The song quoted here is Say by John Mayer. I didn't fully quote it cuz I figured you all wouldn't need me to say "say what you need to say" like a jillion times.**

**I know this was a really fast update and they probably won't all be this fast. So don't get used to it. lol When I posted the first chapter I wasn't tired so I kept writing and this chapter was half done when I went to bed. So look for another update sometime later this week. I have registration though and some nagging summer work so it might have to wait a bit.**


	3. The War Buddy

Thank you all for all the reviews

**Thank you all for all the reviews! They made me really happy when I check my email and go 'Wow! So many!' And thank you to aserene for the suggestion. I was actually thinking about that after I wrote the last chapter. And I'm sorry this took longer than the others, but the next chapter will be posted later today as well.**

**Disclaimer: You know the drill. I don't own NCIS, if I did Jenny would be alive, Jeanne, Hollis, and Vance would be dead, blah blah blah.**

**Note: This chapter is going to be more Gibbs and McGee and the next one will be more Tony and Ziva. I'll probably post them pretty close together. So yeah, enjoy.**

_**Chapter 3: The War Buddy**_

It took ten minutes for Gibbs and McGee to get from the airport to the base. Upon arriving they managed to find Lieutenant Colonel Solis, Petty Officer Miller's CO. He was about as helpful as a flat tire.

"Well, Agent Gibbs," Solis said, "he was a good man and a good Marine. He had a nice family and made friends. Pretty much a normal guy. Sorry I can't do more. He'll be missed. You're welcome to ask the rest anything you like. Good luck." He nodded and abruptly about faced, leaving Gibbs and McGee walking along to find the Marines who served with him.

After hours of long interviews they had little more than they started with. Every single person they talked to had the same story: he was a good man, served his country, great family, loved his fiancée, and couldn't wait to start planning his wedding as soon as he arrived stateside. Gibbs gut was telling him something though; he just hadn't figured out what yet.

"So, you think it was a random attack, or maybe a connection no one knows about?" asked McGee. He had no idea where to begin on this case. He had no problems or feuds with anyone, in fact he was well liked and many seemed to be quite devastated.

"No McGee, as a matter of fact I don't. I think something changed while he was gone, and that's what got him killed. I'm just not sure what that is yet." Gibbs replied as they made their way to the communications room on base that was being graciously offered as a sort of pseudo-HQ while they were there.

"Good afternoon Agent Gibbs." said Special Agent Rebecca Peters, the NCIS agent in charge of the field office in Vancouver. "Welcome to the communications room. I know it's not as fancy as MTAC in D.C. but it'll do. Right?" She smiled. She obviously was a nice person who enjoyed her work and location.

Gibbs nodded curtly. He sat down to wait for his video conference with the Director. McGee took his place a few seats away and waited. After a short while a tech began whispering to Agent Peters. She gestured to Gibbs who walked over to her and retrieved his headset. McGee got out his paper quickly and readied himself to take note of Gibbs and Director Shepard. Everyone knew they had a past and they were pretty sure they had something going on still and McGee could use that, so he did.

"Hello Jethro." Jenny was standing in MTAC holding the case file and seemed ready to talk about something very important.

"Hey Jen. Whatcha got that's so important it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"Well to begin with I have a record of the Petty Officer's stateside contact while he was in Iraq. It's been sent and should be arriving there any moment." A tech got up from the printer and handed Gibbs the paper in question.

"Looks like he wrote to his fiancée a lot. No surprise there."

"I agree. What is interesting is that she wrote back only twice during the entire year he was gone. Only the first two letters."

"I see where you're going with this. I'll let Tony and Ziva know when they check in later."

"Jethro…." She paused, "they will be fine with sharing the room, right? I tried to get them separate rooms but it was all they had."

"Yeah. They'll be fine, Jen. They may break a few rules in the process, but they won't mind much. I'll talk to you tomorrow Jen"

"Good night Jethro."

"Night Jen."

McGee had looked up immediately when Gibbs mentioned breaking the rules. He laughed silently to himself. Abby and him had been breaking rule 12 for quite a while now and Gibbs didn't seem to notice. He remembered when he had first asked Tony about it.

_Flashback_

_It was late. McGee and Tony were finishing up some paperwork. Ziva and Gibbs had already left for the night. Tim had been wondering for days how to ask Abby out, again. He realized that he preferred their on-and-off relationship to be more on then off but he wasn't sure how to tell her so he had made up his mind to ask Tony._

"_Hey Tony. Can I get some advice on something?"_

"_Sure McGoogle. What's on you mind?"_

"_It's Abby. Well… I, uh… here listen to this, you'll understand." He pulled out his iPod and put on a specific song, tossing it to Tony, who stuck the headphones in his ears and pressed play._

8 o'clock, Monday night and I'm waitin'  
To finally talk to a girl a little cooler than me.  
Her name is Nona, she's a rocker with a nose ring,  
She wears a two way, but I'm not quite sure what that means.

_Tony just nodded to the music, knowing good and well that every word was true._

And when she walks,  
All the wind blows and the angels sing.  
She doesn't notice me!

Cause she is watchin' wrestling  
Creamin' over tough guys  
Listenin' to rap metal  
Turntables in her eyes

It's like a bad movie  
She is lookin' through me  
If you were me, then you'd be  
Screamin' "Someone shoot me!"  
As I fail miserably,  
Tryin' to get the girl all the bad guys want.  
She's the girl all the bad guys want!

_Tony was smiling. He was sure that song was written for Abby and McGee._

She likes the Godsmack and I like Agent Orange  
Her cd changer's full of singers that are mad at their dad  
She says she'd like to score some reefer and a forty  
She'll never know that I'm the best that she'll never have

And when she walks,  
All the wind blows and the angels sing.  
She'll never notice me!

Cause she is watchin' wrestling  
Creamin' over tough guys  
Listenin' to rap metal  
Turntables in her eyes

She likes 'em with a mustache  
Racetrack season pass  
Drivin' in a Trans-Am  
Does a mullet make a man?

It's like a bad movie  
She is lookin' through me  
If you were me, then you'd be  
Screamin' "Someone shoot me!"  
As I fail miserably,  
Tryin' to get the girl all the bad guys want.  
She's the girl all the bad guys want!

_Tony was still bopping, listening to every word trying to see how he could best help his friend. Even though he picked on Tim constantly he really did love him like a brother, he felt it was his job to help._

There she goes again  
With fishnets on, and dreadlocks in her hair  
She broke my heart, I wanna be sedated  
All I wanted was to see her naked!

Now I am watchin' wrestling  
Tryin' to be a tough guy  
Listenin' to rap metal  
Turntables in my eyes  
I can't grow a mustache  
And I ain't got no season pass  
All I got's a moped...moped...moped...

It's like a bad movie  
She is lookin' through me  
If you were me, then you'd be  
Screamin' "Someone shoot me!"  
As I fail miserably,  
Tryin' to get the girl all the bad guys want.

_Tony was chuckling now. He could just imagine McGee trying to toughen up and listen to metal for Abby. Now at least he had an idea of what he was up against._

"_Well Tim there isn't really much to tell you. First of all, Abby doesn't look through you, it just seems that way when she's dating other guys. Second of all, just ask her out. It's as simple as that. She'll say yes, so don't worry. Just because the bad guys want her doesn't mean she wants them." Tony smiled and handed the iPod back._

"_Thanks Tony." The next day McGee and Abby had started rekindling their relationship._

_End Flashback_

McGee jumped out of his flashback and made note of the tone and familiarity in Gibbs and Jenny's farewells before jumping up to follow Gibbs out of the room.

They drove to their hotel and checked in. They had connecting rooms on the fifth floor. McGee set up his laptop as a mobile workstation on the desk in the room just as Gibbs came in with Tony on the phone for their nightly check in. Gibbs put Tony and Ziva on speaker phone in McGee's room.

"Hey Boss! Hi McGeek! We had a very boring day. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are possibly the most mundane people on the planet. His fiancée was nice enough but she was too shaken up to give us much. We're gonna talk to her again tomorrow." Tony began.

"You do that Dinozzo. The Director sent over a record of Miller's stateside contact during his tour. He wrote his fiancée once a week and she only returned the first two letters. Question her. Don't let her leave anything out." Gibbs barked into the phone.

"Yes Gibbs. The Millers made us tea today and talked for almost three hours about how proud they were of their son. It was possibly the least helpful interview ever. And their younger son is M-I-A. He disappeared the day the Petty Officer died. They said it was normal though. He went off on 'business ventures' a lot of the time. We are also going to ask some of his friends around here tomorrow." Ziva finished.

"Alright good work you two. Get some sleep and try not to break rule twelve before the end of this case." Gibbs instructed.

"Yes Boss." Tony replied quickly before Gibbs hung up.

**Note: Well I really wanted to get this song in there about McGee and Abby and I thought a flashback would be a nice way to do it, since it doesn't apply in the situation I created. **

**Song is Girl All The Bad Guys Want by Bowling For Soup**

**The next chapter will be Tony and Ziva. And Should be posted really soon if I don't just decide to post it at the same time as this. They happen during the same time frame so you'll get to meet the most boring parents I can possibly create. Reviews and suggestions are lovingly accepted. 3**


	4. The Mundane Millers

So again I will thank you all for reviewing

**So again I will thank you all for reviewing. It makes my day! Well I decided that this chapter should be posted with the previous chapter because of the timing and I really don't mind writing at 2 AM. It clears my head.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS. If I did Tony and Ziva would be together and so would McGee and Abby and Gibbs and Jenny. Oh and I want to see Vance tortured and then killed. So, since that is so obviously not the case NCIS belongs to the wonderful people at CBS and Don Bellisario.**

**Note: This is taking place at the same time as chapter three. And in chapters beyond this I will try to work Jenny and Abby and Ducky into the story more. I just needed to set up the locations and people. Oh and I've started naming characters after teachers from previous schools and my family members.**

_**Chapter 4: The Mundane Millers**_

"Tony. We have been driving for almost an hour; Gibbs said it was only 20 miles and we have already turned around 3 times. Admit it you keep missing the exit!" Ziva exclaimed exasperatedly. She knew they kept missing it because they were both distracted. She had no idea why he was distracted but she was supposed to be helping him and she just couldn't focus. _'A few years?! Who has been there as long as me that I know and he is close to? Oh my God… Jenny. She has to be who he is talking about. Crap. I need to focus on the exits and not on Tony!' _She thought she knew what was going on now and why he had been doing favors and missions for her when Gibbs was gone.

"Ok maybe we missed the exit. But this time we won't." Tony replied. The truth was that he was really distracted and had a very poor sense of direction to begin with, not a good combination. They were determined and distracted. The radio only augmented this.

_Closed off from love  
I didn't need the pain  
Once or twice was enough  
And it was all in vain  
Time starts to pass  
Before you know it you're frozen_

But something happened  
For the very first time with you  
My heart melts into the ground  
Found something true  
And everyone's looking round  
Thinking I'm going crazy

'_Crap! Not again. I'm not usually one for fate and destiny but right now they seem pretty likely. Coincidences like this just DON'T happen! Need to focus on the road!' _Ziva thought as she heard the song come on the radio and began humming along.

_But I don't care what they say  
I'm in love with you  
They try to pull me away  
But they don't know the truth  
My heart's crippled by the vein  
That I keep on closing  
You cut me open and I_

Keep bleeding  
Keep, keep bleeding love  
I keep bleeding  
I keep, keep bleeding love  
Keep bleeding  
Keep, keep bleeding love  
You cut me open

'_Hmmm, this whole radio thing is getting really interesting, really fast. Actually that kinda fits us.'_ Tony thought as he silently chuckled at the idea.

_Trying hard not to hear  
But they talk so loud  
Their piercing sounds fill my ears  
Try to fill me with doubt  
Yet I know that the goal  
Is to keep me from falling_

'_Ahaha, Gibbs' Rule, uh whatever number it is. Ah well. We all know he doesn't even follow it!'_ Ziva was worrying that she hadn't been paying attention to the exits and was not about to come out of her music-induced zone.

_But nothing's greater than the risk that comes with your embrace  
And in this world of loneliness  
I see your face  
Yet everyone around me  
Thinks that I'm going crazy, maybe, maybe_

'_Oh, yeah, the risk of being yelled at and Gibbs slapped for breaking Rule #12.'_ Tony was definitely not paying attention to the exits now and he didn't seem to mind that they might have to turn around again.

_And it's draining all of me  
Oh they find it hard to believe  
I'll be wearing these scars  
For everyone to see_

Ziva began to realize how hard it was to keep everything in and remain professional and how un-Ziva like she would seem if her friends could see inside her head. But she was quickly snapped back to reality when she saw the exit flash by the window.

"Tony! You missed it again!"

"Shit. Alright I'll get off at the next exit and then we'll turn around. And no more music, it's distracting us." He switched off the radio as Ziva nodded in agreement.

They got off the freeway and turned onto the on ramp going in the opposite direction. They drove for one exit and got off. They finally made their way to the Lewis River Inn. It was worse than some of the places they had stayed, but it was better than others. They checked in and went up to their room.

"Hmm," Tony said as he lied down on the bed, "not bad. Could be better; could be worse." Ziva nodded absently trying to focus on hanging up some of her clothes instead of her partner. It was a temporary solution but it was a solution nonetheless. Tony just lied there on the bed and watched his partner hang up his clothes, particularly enjoying the view of her backside.

'_This isn't bad at all. Oh, crap, we have to get going. Gibbs'll kill us if we don't get at least something done today.'_ Tony thought as Ziva finished and turned around, noticing his stare. She felt her face warm a little and she tried to cover it.

"We should get going. Gibbs will want a report." Ziva reminded Tony, deciding in a split second not to comment on his staring. He nodded and followed her out of the room and down to the rental car. He hopped into the driver's seat and followed the directions to Mr. and Mrs. Miller's house on the other side of town.

Ellen and Thomas Miller greeted them at the front door and welcomed them in. They could simply not wait to tell Tony and Ziva what a good person their son was. Ellen had tea made and it sat on the coffee table of their living room in a beautiful china tea set.

"Woodland is just such a nice town, you know? No one thought anything like this could happen here. He knew almost everyone, and everyone was always so proud of him. There was supposed to be a welcome back ceremony to honor him the day after he…sniffle …you know." Ellen began as Tony and Ziva nodded and offered their condolences. "This is just a small town where bad things don't happen. People don't lock their doors at night. There is one stop light and a Safeway. There is one freeway exit and the nearest shopping mall is in Vancouver. It's the perfect place to raise a family and grow old. And we are just so proud…"

She continued on in the same fashion for nearly three hours, not really letting Tony or Ziva ask questions. She seemed to answer all of them though. He was loved by everyone and never had any problems. Once about halfway through the talk Ziva had to surreptitiously elbow Tony in the ribs to keep him from falling asleep.

"…and he just chose to join the Marines out of a desire to do his patriotic duty. Such a good boy." Ellen finally finished. "Oh dear. I've kept you so long. Well I hope I could be helpful. Thank you for coming." She said as she led them to the door. Tony and Ziva kindly thanked them and offered their sympathies once again. Then they left and proceeded to the fiancée's house.

Katie Johnson answered her front door near tears. They made their introductions and she let them in.

"I'm sorry I can't be more helpful. I just can't talk much about him. I miss him. I just feel so bad." She said. Then she hurried them out the door with an excuse about needing to be alone.

"Someone has a lot of guilt." Tony remarked in the car on the way back to the hotel.

"Mmm, yes. But what is she feeling guilty about?" Ziva replied. Tony shrugged and drove back to the hotel. They took the elevator up to their room in a comfortable silence. Ziva took the room key out of her pocket and tried several times to open the door with it. It remained resolutely locked. Ziva groaned loudly in frustration.

"Here let me try." Tony said leaning over and around Ziva's right shoulder to place the key card in the lock and slowly remove it. The light turned green and he wrapped his left arm around her to open the door. His breath tickled her ear and she felt a warm shiver travel down her neck. He held it open while gently leading her in with a hand on the small of her back. To Tony's surprise she looked up at him and smiled slightly. He grinned back with his most charming grin.

'_Or I could be wrong. Maybe it is not Jenny. Maybe it is me… what am I thinking?! It is not me!'_ Ziva fought with the little voice in her head.

Ziva walked into the room and lied down on the right side of the bed. Tony saw the opportunity and took it. He closed the door and ran towards the bed jumping over Ziva and landing hard on the other side. She bounced a few inches off the bed. She smiled and chuckled a little before regaining herself.

'_Where is your mind, David?! We are here on a case. Gibbs will have our heads. We need to check in with him.'_ She rationed with herself. She sat up against the headboard.

"We need to check in with Gibbs, Tony. He will want to hear from us and we need to see if anything has come up." Tony nodded with a small sigh and pulled out his phone and pressed speed dial for Gibbs and put it on speaker phone. Gibbs picked up the other end and informed him that he was on speaker with him and McGee.

"Hey Boss! Hi McGeek! We had a very boring day. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are possibly the most mundane people on the planet. His fiancée was nice enough but she was too shaken up to give us much. We're gonna talk to her again tomorrow." Tony began, looking over at Ziva who nodded in agreement.

"You do that Dinozzo. The Director sent over a record of Miller's stateside contact during his tour. He wrote his fiancée once a week and she only returned the first two letters. Question her. Don't let her leave anything out." Gibbs barked into the phone. Tony looked a little surprised. He could tell she felt guilty but he still thought she seemed to love and miss him very much. That didn't sound much like a person who was avoiding his letters while he was at war.

"Yes Gibbs. The Millers made us tea today and talked for almost three hours about how proud they were of their son. It was possibly the least helpful interview ever. And their younger son is M-I-A. He disappeared the day the Petty Officer died. They said it was normal though. He went off on 'business ventures' a lot of the time. We are also going to ask some of his friends around here tomorrow." Ziva finished for Tony who was still thinking about the odd behavior of the fiancée.

"Alright good work you two. Get some sleep and try not to break rule twelve before the end of this case." Gibbs instructed.

"Yes Boss." Tony replied quickly before Gibbs hung up. Tony just smiled and shook his head.

"Tony?" Ziva began tentatively, "What is rule number twelve?" Tony laughed quietly.

"Never date a co-worker." He replied with a Dinozzo grin.

**Note: Well I was in such a good mood that I wrote both of these chapters and I'm really sorry that they will have to hold you over for a little while. I'll try to post at the end of each week from now on. But don't worry I'll keep posting. **

**The song in this chapter is Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis.**

**Up next: some stuff back in DC**

**What happens with Tony and Ziva?**

**A surprise in the case.**

**Please review and lemme know what you think. Suggestions are wonderful too.**


	5. The Curious Corpse

Thank you all soooooo much for the reviews

**Thank you all soooooo much for the reviews! They totally make my day! Well I'm sorry this chapter is later than I had planned. I had a migraine yesterday and ended up sleeping the whole day so I'm trying to get this written and posted as fast as I can.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned NCIS Jenny wouldn't have died, Tony and Ziva would be together, McGee and Abby would be together, Jenny and Gibbs would be together, and Ziva would get to torture and kill Vance. So I obviously don't own NCIS. That honor goes to CBS, Donald Bellisario, and everyone else there.**

**Note: This picks up the next day (Saturday) back in Washington, D.C. This chapter deals with Ducky, Abby, and Jenny. I don't know if all my scientific and medical terms are correct but I'll try to be as close as possible.**

_**Chapter 5: The Curious Corpse**_

Abby bounced into autopsy on Friday morning to go see what Ducky would say about the body from Washington State.

"Whatcha got for me, Duck?" she asked, imitating Gibbs. "Not much at the moment, Jethro, but I can tell you that this man died a very violent death." Imitating Ducky. The medical examiner chuckled.

"Good morning, Abigail." He began. "I was hoping you would join Mr. Palmer and I this morning. Now where did he run off to?" Abby shrugged and began chatting away about a problem with her overnight shipment of evidence that was not supposed to arrive for a few hours and how annoyed she was that she had to come to work on a Saturday and there was no one there to bring her Caf-Pows. "Well, my dear, would you like to stay and _help_ Mr. Palmer and I until your evidence arrives?"

"You want me to help you and Jimmy? I would love to Ducky!" She said jumping up to hug the older man. He chuckled and patted her back, just as Jimmy Palmer walked into autopsy with the swoosh of the automatic doors.

"Good morning Mr. Palmer! Where have you been? Timeliness is a virtue Mr. Palmer. We would not want to keep Mr. Miller or Agent Gibbs waiting!" Ducky proclaimed as the young assistant walked into the room a tad disheveled. Ducky chose not to comment on this. He knew about Palmer and Agent Lee's relationship; he simply chose to let the young man keep up his charade and his pride.

Jimmy dressed in his scrubs and began assisting with the autopsy of Petty Officer Miller. Ducky slid a long probe into the obvious gunshot wound in the man's chest. Jimmy brought over another instrument; he measured the angle to be nearly ninety degrees. He noted this on the report and Ducky began the Y-incision. He cut the ribs and continued with the internal exam.

"Well, this is rather curious. The bullet seems to be M. I. A." Ducky explained, stretching out the abbreviation.

"What do you mean M.I.A., Ducky?" asked Director Jennifer Shepard, as she walked into the room.

"Well there is no exit wound but I can not seem to locate the .38 caliber projectile. It seems to have ricocheted off of this rib here, you see, but I can not seem to find where is buried itself afterwards. Actually this reminds me of a case I worked many years ago with Jethro…"

"Ducky! Please just find the bullet! We have very little to go on right now." With that she left rubbing her temple and muttering something about time zones and the need to get coffee. _'Pacific time, Jethro won't even be awake yet. He always did adjust to time change well. It's probably all that damn coffee!' _Jen thought as she walked out of autopsy rubbing her temples lightly, heading out to get a cup of coffee before returning to her office.

"Yes, well, Mr. Palmer please get me a jar for the stomach contents." Jimmy dashed over with a large, empty jar. He held it out as Ducky poured the remnants of Petty Officer Miller's last meal into the waiting receptacle. "Aha! There you are you little bugger!" He plucked the .38 caliber slug out of the jar and placed it into the smaller jar he had already prepared. "There you are my dear. Something for you to work on until your evidence arrives." He passed the jar to Abby, who took it excitedly and went to hug him. Then she noticed the various bodily fluids on the front of his scrubs and decided better of it. She grinned happily and ran off to her lab to process the bullet.

Jimmy and Ducky continued on the autopsy without incident. They found nothing much out of the ordinary during the internal exam. They had already given all external samples to Abby for processing and were just beginning to file their paperwork.

Abby, on the other hand, was finding a great deal of things out of the ordinary. She ran the bullet and came up with nothing. There was nothing in the database on it. It was an anonymous .38 caliber bullet. She did find that the victim's brother owned a .38 caliber Smith &Wessen snubnosed revolver. She knew that meant close to nothing; snubnosed revolvers had been very popular for a time and still are popular for self defense due to their size.

The interesting thing came when she began to run the samples from the Petty Officer's clothes and shoes. Just as her results began streaming to her computer, Jenny walked in.

"You have something, Abby?"

"Do I ever! I ran the Petty Officer's clothes and found two completely different samples on his back. The sample on the top was the processed soil from the stand of trees where he was found. It's the second sample that actually makes it interesting! The second sample I found on Miller's back is the same as the sample on his shoes, and it's not from where he was found!" Abby was obviously excited. She knew something big was afoot.

"Well what was it Abby?"

"It was dried mud. Not the kind that's wet when it gets on your shoes and then dries, no the dry kind that you step in and don't even realize is on your shoes until you track it all over the carpet. But it gets better! This mud is not just any old mud. In fact, this mud isn't even from the same side of Mt. St. Helens. This is part of the volcanic mudflow from the 1980 eruption. It's mostly made up of ash, and soil from the crater of the volcano that was blown off on May 18, 1980."

"What does that mean Abby?"

"Petty Officer Miller was killed on the North side of the volcano and moved to the South side. Which brings me to my next point. Miller was transported in the back of a pick up truck. An older one; there was some rust and paint shavings on the back of his jacket, sandwiched between the two layers of soil. It's red, but it's from the mid-80's so it's pretty generic. I can't narrow down what kind of truck."

"That's alright Abby. Good work. And it's 1100 hours. We can call Jethro now." Jen picked up Abby's phone and dialed Gibbs' cell number before pressing the speaker phone and placing the handset back on the receiver.

"Gibbs"

"Good morning Jethro. We have new evidence for you. Go ahead Abby."

"Hi Gibbs!! Well the bullet is a .38 but that isn't really much to go on. My guess would be a revolver because you didn't find any casings, but he could have just been policing his brass. The brother owns a .38 snubnosed revolver, but so do a lot of people. And the Petty Officer died in an area with a lot of volcanic mud still hanging around from 1980. And he was moved in a red truck made in the 80s."

"Oh good. You're on the phone with Jethro." Ducky said as he walked briskly into Abby's lab. "Hello? Jethro. We have established cause and time of death. He died of a single shot to the chest which severed his pulmonary artery and subsequently ricocheted off his rib lodging itself in his stomach, where Mr. Palmer and I retrieved it. As for time of death, Mr. Miller died late Tuesday night, between 9 and 11 pm Pacific Time."

"Well, this is all starting to make sense then. Turns out the victim's brother disappeared on a 'business venture' on Tuesday around 1900 hours. I'll let Tony and Ziva know. That's good work Abs. You, too, Duck. I'll talk to you tonight Jen." With that he hung up. Abby went back to work and Ducky made his way back to Autopsy. Jen began the slow walk back to her office. She decided to take the stairs to think.

'_Something just doesn't feel right,'_ she mused as she climbed. _'It should be fine. This seems like a straightforward murder in a sensitive area. His parents requested the best investigators NCIS had and now the best team in the agency has flown to the other side of the country to investigate a straightforward murder. It makes sense, but yet it doesn't.'_ She was nearing her office now. She sat down on the stairs for a moment to make use of the peaceful quiet. _'The parents know more than they're saying. Or maybe they've already tried to tell us. There must be something more. Why would he just kill his brother? Revenge? Jealousy? Greed? Rage? But even those motives need a backstory. Jethro will figure it out. He has to, he wouldn't be Jethro if he couldn't.'_ She finally concluded.

She stood up and walked resolutely into her office, planning on doing paperwork and waiting patiently for the day to end so she could discuss the case in depth with the one person she completely trusted. She turned on her radio and sat down at her desk to work. A few minutes later a familiar song started playing.

_I took my love, I took it down  
Climbed a mountain and I turned around  
and I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills  
'Till the landslide brought me down_

'_That really is how I got my position. I climbed that huge political mountain. And one day someone else will be sitting at this desk.' _She mused to the song.

_Oh, mirror in the sky  
What is love  
Can the child within my heart rise above  
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides  
Can I handle the seasons of my life  
Mmmm mmm mmm_

Well, I've been afraid of changing  
'Cause I've built my life around you  
But time makes you bolder  
Even children get older  
And I'm getting older too

Jen is beginning to realize how much of her life, the good, the bad, and the indifferent are because of Jethro and neither of them are getting any younger.

_Well, I've been afraid of changing  
'Cause I've built my life around you  
But time makes you bolder  
Even children get older  
And I'm getting older too  
Oh I'm getting older too_

Awh, take my love, take it down  
Awh, Climb a mountain and turn around  
And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills  
Well the landslide bring it down

She thought _'I have to take some action. I can't let this cat and mouse game keep going for eternity. Things should have ended differently in Paris all those years ago.'_

_And If you see my reflection in the snow covered hills  
Well the landslide bring it down  
Oh the landslide bring it down._

She sighed and turned back to her computer and the stack of files on her desk. There wasn't time in the day for this kind of musing. It could wait until Jethro returned. Maybe she would convince him to take her to dinner.

It seemed that 1930 came too quickly and she found herself walking to MTAC to talk to Jethro. She walked in and the techs began the video conference with the media room in the Pacific Northwest. Leroy Jethro Gibbs' face crackled into life on the main screen. It looked tired, caffeinated, and concerned.

"Is something wrong there Jethro?" She was sure there was, but she secretly hoped it was nothing.

"Well, I got good news and bad news Jen. The good news is, we located the brother who we believe to be the killer, and his red truck and .38. The bad news is we lost him, the truck and the gun when he took Tony and Ziva on a nice little field trip into the woods. But it gets worse. They haven't come back yet. We're going up there at first light to start the search." Jen couldn't keep the shock off her face. This could get ugly, missing agents was bad enough, but Tony and Ziva were not only the best but they were close friends.

"I'm coming with you. I'll take the red-eye out and be there by morning." She gestured at a tech who quickly scurried to his station to purchase and print her ticket.

"That isn't necessary Jen. We've got a whole field office, some state police, and the sheriffs ready to search at sun-up."

"I'm coming Jethro. I will see you in a few hours." Her tone dared him to argue. In fact, he opened his mouth to, but he saw the determination in her face and decided against it.

"Alright Jen. I'll meet you at the airport."

"Ok Jethro. I'm on flight 725 arriving at approximately 2300 hours Pacific Time. I'll see you there."

He nodded. "Have a safe flight Jen." He stared back at her with a sincerity that was visible even through the video link. She smiled and nodded. The connection was cut and she dashed off to pack and get on her flight as quickly as possible.

**Note: Ok so I actually went online and looked up flights from D.C. to that general area and there actually is a flight 725 that leaves D.C. at 6 pm and arrives there at 11pm. I intentionally leave out the name of the airline. **

**The song in this chapter is **_**Landslide**_** by Stevie Nicks.**

**Well the next one will be Saturday through the eyes of Gibbs, McGee, Tony and Ziva. It will also cover Jen's arrival in Washington State. That update may take a few days. I have to be at a rehearsal dinner tomorrow and then I have to do some last minute school shopping on Sunday and I start school on Monday and I still have to do some work. So yeah. I'll try to type some of it up on my phone after school or maybe in the library. Somehow I will get you an update by next Friday. Please keep reviewing. It is my fuel. It literally makes me want to write, just so you guys can tell me what I did good and not so good. It really makes me smile. And smiles are great when you don't want to go back to school.**


	6. Chaos

Well I wasn't actually expecting to post this quite yet because my mom was bugging me about studying and then she decided I should take the rest of the night off

**Well I wasn't actually expecting to post this quite yet because my mom was bugging me about studying and then she decided I should take the rest of the night off. So it's a reward for you all to get another new chapter to tide you over for the next week and a reward for me to get the urge to write out of my system because I won't get to write as much.**

**Disclaimer: Y'all should know by now that I don't own any part of NCIS and that honor belongs to the folks at CBS and stuff.**

**Note: Ok so this is how Saturday goes for Tony and Ziva. I have some plans for this so you'll just have to wait and see. smiles evilly**

_**Chapter 6: Chaos**_

0630 PST

Tony and Ziva were awake as the alarm they had set was blaring the local weather (sunny but very cool), traffic reports (clear due to the tiny population and lack of main thoroughfares, and news (some teenaged vandals had been caught). Tony jumped up and grabbed some jeans and a black long sleeved T-shirt. He ran to the bathroom, shutting the door, but not before peeking his head out to smile childishly at Ziva who was annoyed that he had claimed the shower first.

Ziva climbed out of bed and shut off the alarm clock. She calmly picked up a pair of jeans and a brown sweater. She had set them on the foot of the bed, nicely folded. She flicked on the TV to the local news channel. Just then Tony walked out of the bathroom to hear the newscaster explain that the Naval Criminal Investigative Service had sent their best team to look into the death of their hometown hero. Ziva looked up at him and smiled the same juvenile smile he had used on her earlier.

"My turn!" She dashed off to take her shower. Twenty minutes later she walked out of the bathroom; she was completely ready. They went downstairs to their rental car and got in.

"Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" Tony asked as he began to pull out of the parking space. "I think I saw a diner between here and the fiancée's house." He offered.

"That sounds good Tony. I am so hungry I could eat a cow."

"Horse, Ziva. So hungry I could eat a horse."

"Whatever. Horse. Cow. They are both large farm animals, yes?" Tony chuckled amusedly as they pulled up to the diner. They got out and went inside to a booth at the back. Tony ordered a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, potatoes and orange juice. Ziva stuck with just pancakes and sausage. Tony looked at her funny when she ordered it. Ziva couldn't figure out why.

"Not kosher?" Tony asked incredulously.

"Oh!" Ziva laughed. "No. I do not always keep kosher. It is difficult to find a lot of kosher foods here in America, and besides, I am not exactly the orthodox type, am I?" She smiled at the look on his face. He recovered quickly, though.

"No. No, you're not. Interesting" he smiled at his beautiful Israeli partner. She felt a little uncomfortable under his stare and squirmed in her seat. Tony paying extra attention to her was always a blessing and a curse. She loved that feeling she got when he cared what happened to her, even if she was fine. But she did not want to simply be another of the Italian playboy's many conquests. It was an ongoing battle in her head to decide if he had grown or not. It seemed he was chasing skirts less than before, but there was still the nagging issue of his fear of commitment.

They finished their breakfasts in a comfortable and agreeable silence. This trip wasn't so bad. Afterwards they headed down to Katie Johnson's (the fiancée's) house. She answered the door as before. She was the perfect grieving, almost-widow.

"I'm sorry, I would just really like to be alone now." She tried to make them leave.

"This will only take a minute. We don't even have to come in." Tony tried harder to convince the young woman to answer their questions. She nodded.

"We have records that monitored James' incoming and outgoing mail. It seems that he wrote you every week of his tour, but you only replied to his first two letters. Is there any reason for that?" Ziva asked hoping to get an actual answer, but not really expecting it.

"Well, answering his letters, it made me sad. It reminded me of how much I missed him. I just couldn't cope without him." She sniffled and asked if they needed anything else. They replied 'no' and left.

"Well I think she is full of ham." Ziva declared as they got into the car. Tony looked at her with a very puzzled expression on his face. Then realization dawned.

"Bologna, Ziva. I think you mean that she is full of bologna. Which yes, she is." Tony corrected. "I think we better check in with Gibbs before we move on anything more serious around here. I mean we don't even know where to start on this missing brother lead." Ziva nodded and they made a speaker phone call to Gibbs from the car.

_Meanwhile_

Gibbs had awoken to the annoying beeping of the hotel alarm clock. It was 0530. He got himself out of bed, took a shower, dressed and went for coffee. By the time he was back it was 0615 and time to make sure Tim was awake. He pounded on the door of the younger man's hotel room.

"McGee!! Get up!! Time to go!" He smiled contentedly to himself. He knew Tim would be fumbling around trying to take a shower quickly and get dressed to meet Gibbs. The boss waited in his room with the morning paper and a steaming cup of 'Hot Fresh Coffee' waiting for Tim's knock on the adjoining room door. When it came he simply called that it was open and the agent walked in looking awake and alert.

"Morning Boss! What do we have today?"

"Not much. We need to run down a lead on this missing brother and get it to Tony and Ziva ASAP." They hopped in the rental car and headed down to the field office. Gibbs stormed in with his usual demeanor. "Where are we on the brother?"

"Well there is a 1984 red Toyota pick up truck that's registered to him that has also dropped off the face of the Earth on this 'business venture' and hasn't been back, with or without him. His name is Trevor Steven Miller, brother of Petty Officer James Thomas Miller. They were supposedly very close growing up. One went to serve his country while the other stayed home dealing in some slightly illegal endeavors. Gibbs nodded. Just then his phone rang and he answered it.

"Gibbs."

"Good morning Jethro. We have new evidence for you. Go ahead Abby." Came Jen's voice through the cell phone. Even through an electronic medium he could tell something was bugging her. He decided on a longer talk about all this later that day.

"Hi Gibbs!! Well the bullet is a .38 but that isn't really much to go on. My guess would be a revolver because you didn't find any casings, but he could have just been policing his brass. The brother owns a .38 snubnosed revolver, but so do a lot of people. And the Petty Officer died in an area with a lot of volcanic mud still hanging around from 1980. And he was moved in a red truck made in the 80s."

"Oh good. You're on the phone with Jethro." He heard the voice of his old friend. It was good when he had news it usually was very helpful to the case. "Hello? Jethro. We have established cause and time of death. He died of a single shot to the chest which severed his pulmonary artery and subsequently ricocheted off his rib lodging itself in his stomach, where Mr. Palmer and I retrieved it. As for time of death, Mr. Miller died late Tuesday night, between 9 and 11 pm Pacific Time."

"Well, this is all starting to make sense then. Turns out the victim's brother disappeared on a 'business venture' on Tuesday around 1900 hours. I'll let Tony and Ziva know. That's good work Abs. You, too, Duck. I'll talk to you tonight Jen." With that he hung up. He was beginning to like the brother for this but something still didn't feel right and he could tell Jen had felt it too. Something was fishy, he just didn't know what yet, but he would figure it out. He always did. His gut had never let him down. He knew he shouldn't send Tony and Ziva to look for a suspected murderer by themselves with no back up so he would call them back to Vancouver and they would regroup with the field office, state police, and local sheriffs in the morning.

"Whatcha got Boss?" Tim asked from his post.

"A hunch and a gut feeling Tim. Brother owns a truck that matches the description of the vehicle used to move the body. He owns a gun matching the description of the murder weapon, and he was unaccounted for during the time of the murder. We need to get Dinozzo and David here now."

"Ok, I'll call them Boss." Gibb's phone rang at that moment. He looked at the caller ID.

"No need McGee, they're calling us. (into phone) Gibbs."

"Yeah. Hey Boss. It's us, well you're on speaker phone. We have a hunch but the fiancée isn't cooperating. She says she needs to be alone because she is distraught." Tony spoke at the phone sitting between him and his partner.

"Don't worry about it. We'll get on that later. I just put a BOLO out on the brother's truck. So far it looks like he's good for this. We need to talk to him."

"What are we doing Gibbs?" Ziva asked bluntly.

"You are gathering your stuff and coming back here to Vancouver to coordinate with state police and sheriffs. The truck is a 1984 red Toyota pick up with a bed cover. Plate is 7-3-2-Yankee-Tango-Zulu. If you see it, you call! Got it?!"

"Yes Boss!" They chimed together as Gibbs hung up. They looked at each other and decided that Gibbs meant ASAP, not just 'do it today' so they drove back to the hotel and gathered their suitcases. They didn't bother checking out. They had reservations for a week and when they came back for the search at least they knew they would have a room.

"So they think the brother did this. Makes sense, kind of. I mean we have no idea why but the evidence is there. Means, and opportunity. Right?" Tony looked over a Ziva who was staring out the window puzzled.

"Tony? Is that not the truck we are supposed to 'be on the look out' for? See? 732-YTZ."

"You're right Ziva that is. Call Gibbs. Tell him we're gonna tail him and we'll keep him on the line." Ziva immediately called Gibbs and put him on speaker.

"Gibbs. We found the truck…" Ziva began but she was quickly cut off by Tony.

"More like it found us really Boss." Ziva shot him a glare that said _Shut up and drive unless you want me to kill you with a paperclip!_ He shut right up and concentrated on following the truck. It was midday and he had managed to take them around the town about four times before he decided he couldn't lose them so easily.

Gibbs had put the call through to the tech conference room in the Vancouver field office. And was constantly aware of their tactical position. Then he surprised everyone and turned onto an access rode that led to the woods.

"Proceed at own risk Dinozzo! And not just you! David is there too!" In the car Tony and Ziva looked over at each other and nodded, they knew they could do it. They took off onto the small dirt road. It got farther and farther into the woods and Tony began to lose the very little directional sense he had and the dirt road became less and less defined. Then they lost service and their call with Gibbs crackled and cut out.

"Tony, we need to turn around. We have to go back."

"Well we need to find space to turn around Zee-vah. I'm looking for a clearing." No sooner had he said the words that there was a tremendous noise and the car just stopped. Tony hit the gas and it just sat there, wheels spinning, mud flying.

"Now we are stuck in the mud Tony! We have to at least try to get the car out of here."

"I agree, but what do we do then? Are we going to drive backwards the whole way?" Ziva shrugged.

"I will drive." Tony didn't like the idea very much but it was the only one they had so they slowly got out of the car, careful not to slip and land in the mud that had trapped the car. They stood back for a moment staring a it. "Put it in reverse and then try to drive out." Ziva offered.

"No. You put it in reverse and steer while I help by pushing." She opened her mouth to tell him that she could push too when she realized that she was lighter and would make it easier to push the car out than if he were steering. She just nodded and got into the driver's seat. She shifted into reverse and slowly applied pressure to the gas as Tony began to push. Nothing happened. Nothing at all. They were completely stuck.

"We can not be that far from the road. We will simply walk back." Tony agreed and they got their backpacks out of the trunk of the car. Ziva started walking and realized Tony was not next to her. She looked around and saw him coming out of the car with a bag of peanuts. She shook her head, amused, but waited for him anyway.

They had only been walking for about ten minutes when they heard something coming from their right. They looked over in time to see the very truck they had been following come toward them and stopped directly in front of them, blocking their path. For a moment they almost thought he would help them, but the idea was gone before it was even fully fledged. Trevor got out of his truck with a mean glare in his eyes. The first instinct would be to run, but Tony and Ziva both knew that running was a bad idea when there was a very angry man with a 12-gauge shotgun in his hands standing right in front of you. Even worse being part of the reason he is very angry.

"Get in the truck!" he commanded, gesturing to the covered truck bed with the barrel of his shotgun. Tony and Ziva cautiously walked toward the back of the truck, Trevor's shotgun aimed at them the entire time. Tony opened the window panel and then the tailgate. They jumped up into the bed of the truck and Trevor closed them in. "Lay down! On the floor! Now!" They complied, neither wanting to be at the wrong end of that gun if it went off.

Trevor drove for some distance, they took so many turns and half turns that even Ziva gave up trying to remember them all. They must have driven for at least an hour, but for all the agents knew he could have driven them in circles. He finally stopped. Trevor Miller walked around to the back of the truck. He opened both hatches, shotgun still in hand.

"Get out! Now! Let's see if your federal friends can find you now. Good luck. I'll be halfway to Africa by the time they find you bodies." His voice was malicious but serious. Tony gulped slightly. He wasn't ready to die yet, there were so many things he wanted to do in his life. Ziva was not scared to die; she was scared of what she had not been brave enough to do in her life. She was afraid that she had not said goodbye to Abby or Jenny or Ducky before they left. She was afraid of what she would never be able to tell Tony. Little did she know he was afraid of the same thing. Trevor gestured with the shotgun and Ziva slid out first, Tony sticking to her like glue.

Trevor closed up his truck and began walking around to the driver's seat. Before he reached it thought, he stopped.

"The answer is no. I'm not going to shoot you. You can just die out here. It'll be more painful, maybe you could fix the problems of the world only to take the answers to the grave." He shrugged uncaringly. "I don't really care." With those final words he left. He got in the truck and drove away leaving Tony and Ziva alone in the woods with no supplies.

"Well Tony, I guess we're going to be here for a while. We might as well find some place to camp, yes?" Tony nodded. "Do you hear that, Tony?" He shook his head. "It's water, there is a stream in that direction." She pointed to her right.

"Then we go that way." They turned and started walking. They walked close to each other as if wanting to reassure themselves of the other's presence. They were so close to the stream now, they could really hear the water and they could see the leafy green undergrowth near the bank. Just then Ziva could no longer see or feel Tony beside her. She looked over to see him crumpled on the ground. She rushed to his side.

"Tony! Tony, are you alright?" she was pleading with higher powers that he was ok.

"Yup! I'm fine." He went to stand up and crumpled again, this time into Ziva's arms. "I think I tripped on a tree root." He admitted. She slowly sat him back down. He pointed to his left ankle and she pushed his jeans up to his knee. She pressed lightly on different points on his ankle. He swore in pain as she pressed one.

"Only a bad sprain. Thank goodness you did not break it." She gathered two relatively straight sticks and a shirt from her bag. She tore the cloth into strips and used it to hold the sticks to his ankle. She put his arm around her shoulder and he was able to walk down to the bank of the stream.

Ziva used her ninja skills to make a relatively comfortable lean-to. Their back packs made good pillows and their jackets would work as blankets. She had also managed to make a fire, which they were sitting around.

"We are going to need water. We will soon be dehydrated and in that state we will not last very long." Ziva said very matter-of-factly. She could analyze any situation she was in and take herself out of the equation. She made it all seem so simple.

"Well it's a good thing I swiped these then, isn't it?" Tony replied holding out two hotel brand water bottles. "There are only two more, so if we plan on surviving out here long we should ration them." She nodded.

"Why exactly do you have these?"

"It's free water, Zee-vah. They put two bottles in the room everyday, so I took them and put them in my backpack."

"Well it seems that you being cheap may have just saved our lives." Tony nodded and lay down on the makeshift bed. He pulled the jacket around him willing himself to sleep when he felt movement from the other side of the 'tent'. Ziva was shivering. He opened his eyes and saw that she was, in fact, shivering. It was a shiver even she couldn't control.

"Come here, Ziva." She looked at him puzzled and reluctant. "We need to conserve body heat and you're freezing." She nodded and pulled herself a little closer. "Ziva come under my jacket with me, it's much warmer than yours." She was even more reluctant but she saw the concern in his eyes and complied. She pulled her backpack over as a pillow and snuggled next to Tony under his jacket. He sat up and put her jacket around their legs. He lay back down and tucked them in wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close, encircling her with warmth. She stopped shivering and drifted off to sleep.

**Note: I'm sorry this is so long. It kind of had a mind of its own. I will post the next chapter which is what happened with Gibbs, McGee, and Jen in a bit. Also I'm writing a new fic that I'm going to post very soon. I want to have it as done as possible before I post it so it doesn't get in the way of school. It's my version of the beginning of season 6. It's called Against All Odds. So look for it soon. **


	7. Problems

Ok so I just now got a request for more Jibbs and I could not agree with you more

**Ok so I just now got a request for more Jibbs and I could not agree with you more. I just had to get them on the same coast. It's coming I promise. And I'm working on putting in more McAbby. But I think for them it's sort of established already, but I'll reference it more, I promise. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS. I would like to torture Leon Vance though. But I don't own it so I can't torture him except here. My other fic that will be up soon will definitely be doing some Vance-bashing.**

**Note: This is now what happens in Gibbs and Tim's day as well as the night when Jen arrives. Some Jibbs in this chapter.**

_**Chapter 7: Problems**_

Gibbs had just hung up with Tony and Ziva. He turned to Tim who was sitting at a computer station trying to figure out why in the world Trevor Miller would just kill his brother on his first night home from war.

"They're on their way here, McGee." Tim nodded at his boss and kept looking. "What is it Tim? Speak!" Gibbs barked at him. McGee looked up as if seeing him for the first time. He regained himself quickly and went to his explanation.

"Phone records show that during the time Petty Officer Miller was gone his brother and his wife were on the phone upwards of two, three times a day. I think that's what got the Petty Officer killed. His brother didn't want him coming back and taking back his wife."

"Now that is a good job Tim." Before he could continue he was cut off by his phone ringing again. This time it was Ziva calling, not that that was much different.

"Gibbs. We found the truck…" Ziva began but she was quickly cut off by Tony.

"More like it found us really Boss." Tony added. Gibbs understood and they left the phone on speaker to give Gibbs an easy way to be aware of their location. They tailed him as long as they could. Gibbs had pulled up a map of their location on the main screen and had the call on the speaker. Tony and Ziva stopped. They were almost on top of an access road that led directly into the woods. Gibbs knew in an instant that was where Trevor had gone.

"Proceed at own risk Dinozzo! And not just you! David is there too!" Gibbs barked at them. He didn't want Dinozzo to make a rash decision and get him and his partner into a sticky situation without her agreement that the risk was worth taking. They decided on it silently as they proceeded down the dirt road. Gibbs watched the little dot that was his agents move along the road and then flicker and disappear. At the same moment their call cut out and all they were left with was an outdated location and a dial tone.

This was a huge problem. He had McGee bring up the GPS in their phones. They were still proceeding down the same dirt road. Then the GPS blips stopped. They weren't moving. Then they were suddenly moving again, in a completely different direction. Then even the GPS cut out and left Gibbs furious and demanding answers.

"What the hell is going on McGee?! Why are their GPS chips not working?!"

"They could have the phones off, Ziva could have killed Tony with them, they could have broken them, or the dense trees and foliage could just be blocking the signal." Gibbs was relieved, though he wouldn't admit it. He smiled a tiny bit.

"If I had to pick one I'd go with the last one, though Ziva killing Tony is a close second."

The day dragged on. There was little anyone could do but wait and wonder. They had run every possible lead and were exhausted. It seemed to take forever of Gibbs waiting and yelling and many cups of coffee before 1630 came. Jen was on the video conference from MTAC and he wished she was there next to him helping him get his agents back. They weren't just his agents, or his employees, they were his family, like his kids. He had to find them.

The techs in the media room pressed a few buttons and Jennifer Shepard was there with him on the screen. She looked tired but otherwise ok. He saw the look of concern that crossed her features when she saw him. He knew he must look like hell, but he didn't care.

"Is something wrong there Jethro?" He wanted to laugh. She knew there was and so did he. It was just something that they did. They asked questions they knew the answers to, in a desperate hope that they were wrong.

"Well, I got good news and bad news Jen. The good news is we located the brother who we believe to be the killer, and his red truck and .38. The bad news is we lost him, the truck and the gun when he took Tony and Ziva on a nice little field trip into the woods. But it gets worse. They haven't come back yet. We're going up there at first light to start the search." Jen's face was concerned, shocked and scared. He knew what she was feeling. Those two in particular. It was just something.

"I'm coming with you. I'll take the red-eye out and be there by morning." She gestured at a tech who began typing and printing.

"That isn't necessary Jen. We've got a whole field office, some state police, and the sheriffs ready to search at sun-up." She was the director now, she shouldn't have to fly to the other end of the country because two agents were missing, but then again Tony and Ziva had never been just two agents to him or Jen.

"I'm coming Jethro. I will see you in a few hours." Her tone dared him to argue. In fact, he opened his mouth to, but he saw the determination in her face and decided against it.

"Alright Jen. I'll meet you at the airport."

"Ok Jethro. I'm on flight 725 arriving at approximately 2300 hours Pacific Time. I'll see you there."

He nodded. "Have a safe flight Jen." He was sincere. He would be there with coffee and an invitation to the nearest 24-hour diner, that or hotel room service. She smiled and nodded, he knew she could see his caring. The link was cut and he sat down rubbing his temples. He got up and decided to go back to the hotel. He informed everyone to get a good night's sleep and be ready bright and early to drive to Woodland to search for his agents.

He and Tim headed back to the hotel. Gibbs sat down at the desk and began reviewing everything over again. Before he knew it, it was almost time to pick up Jen. He gathered his case file and walked down to the lobby to ask for directions to the airport. He got into his car and followed the instructions of the concierge. Gibbs turned up the radio and just drove.

_There are certain people you just keep coming back to  
She is right in front of you  
You begin to wonder could you find a better one  
Compared to her now she's in question_

'_Wow' _he thought._ 'No matter where life takes us it seems like Jen and I are always brought back together. And I have had others, many others.'_

_And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same_

Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you started to compare to someone not there

Gibbs began to realize that every word was true. The hardest thing for him to admit was that he still cared for Jenny after all these years and had never quite gotten over her. He knew the rest was just as true, it always had been.

_Looking for the right one you line up the world to find  
Where no questions cross your mind  
But she won't keep on waiting for you without a doubt  
Much longer for you to sort it out_

And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

It was just as right again. Neither of them could wait. Neither of them could afford to wait. They weren't exactly spring chickens anymore. And she had told him once that he seemed to be lining up women, trying to choose the right one, but he married each one before deciding she wasn't it.

_Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you started to compare to someone not there  
Maybe you want it maybe you need it,  
Maybe it's all you're running from,  
Perfection will not come_

And all at once the crowd begins to sing  
Sometimes  
We'd never know what's wrong without the pain  
Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same

_Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you've started to compare to someone not there  
Maybe you want it maybe you need it  
Maybe it's all you're running from  
Perfection will not come_

Maybe you want her maybe you need her  
Maybe you had her maybe you lost her to another  
To another

'_I will not lose her to anyone! I will not lose her again.'_ Gibbs thought resolutely as he pulled into a short term parking space and walked to baggage claim to meet her. He looked around fervently. Just then he saw a bob of red hair bounce off the bottom of the escalator. She walked into view and he waved. There was that moment of 'what do I do' and then she walked up into his waiting arms.

"Why do things like this happen Jethro?! Why did it have to be them?! They have a chance, a chance to be great things, a chance together, a chance to not turn out like us."

"Shhh." He tried to soother her. "They'll be ok Jen. If anyone or anything comes anywhere near hurting them Ziva will kick their ass. And you know Tony will figure something out, he always does." She nodded into his chest. "And they are great things, nothing changes that. And I'm sure that right about now that chance together is getting closer to reality. It's in Dinozzo's nature. And, hey, why does turning out like us have to be bad?" She looked up at him and smiled. They both knew they could fix things if they tried; they just tried not to because they were afraid. He kissed her forehead and released his grip on her.

She was calm now and back into Director-Mode. Gibbs grabbed her bag and headed to the car while she was looking over the case. They drove to the nearest diner and sat for a long while. Gibbs drinking coffee and Jen staring at the file occasionally sipping at her tea. It went on like this for an hour or so. When Jen looked up her eyes were bloodshot and tired.

Gibbs took the case file from her and led her to the register where he paid and they left. He had checked her in earlier that day and now took her up to her room. He opened the door and set her bag down on the floor. He smiled his charming Gibbs smile before saying he would see her in the morning and telling her to 'get some sleep' and closing the door. He walked back to his room and went in to do the same thing.

**Note: Ok so I whipped this one out pretty fast. Less than one hour. If it's not all that great I'm sorry but I just couldn't leave it hanging like that. This is easier. I will try to update on Saturday night if not before. I'm sorry I'm in a wedding on Saturday and I have to be over at the bride's house the night before and I'm staying there because the groomsmen are staying at my house. Well just thought I would let you know so you can forgive the tardiness of my update this week. After that it will probably be Friday or Saturday nights.**

**Song is All At Once by The Fray.**

**So look for my new fic coming soon: Against All Odds. And please review. It makes my day a little brighter.**


	8. Trees

**Ok so I had a major problem before even beginning this chapter. My computer like totally blew up earlier this week. There were sparks coming from it and everything so I had to get a new computer. The old computer has a fried motherboard. It would have cost almost as much to fix it as to get a new one. So all my files on that one are still on that one. But not to worry, my mom is a computer tech so she is going to get all my files from my hard drive. It may be a day or two before I get them but as soon as I do I'm going to start posting my new story. It already has 7 chapters and I only have like 3 weeks to post it so I should finish it quick So I have to thank you guys for understanding that this is later than I had hoped but being in a wedding is not exactly easy. It went just fine though.**

**Note: This chapter picks up the morning after chapter 6. It picks up with Tony and Ziva in the woods.**

_**Chapter 8: Trees**_

The sunlight filtered through the dense trees. It was morning and Tony was waking up. He could feel a coolness on his chest that wasn't there when he fell asleep. The senior field agent opened his eyes and his partner was nowhere to be seen. He remembered that she had been next to him, under his jacket when they had fallen asleep. Then he realized that he wasn't under his own jacket; he was under hers.

Tony sat straight up on the makeshift bed and saw Ziva sitting in front of the fire, well it wasn't quite a fire yet. She was attempting to start a fire and was obviously freezing. She had his jacket on and was huddled over so it covered as much of her as possible. It was much warmer in D.C. this time of year. He stood up and walked over to where she was sitting. He sat down and began rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm her. She smiled.

"Toda."

"Prego."

"There we go! No we can warm up and maybe cook something. Not that we have anything to cook." She sighed and leaned up against him, shivering. He nodded.

"Ziva, I know it's cold out here but you can't seem to get warm. Are you alright? And if you say 'I'm fine' I'll just keep bugging you, so you might as well tell me the truth."

"The truth, Tony, is that I am perfectly fine. It is cold out here. I am hungry, and a little thirsty, but other than that I am fine. Please do not keep asking Tony. We just need to find a way to get out of these woods."

"Ziva, we don't even know where we are. I think we should wait for Gibbs to find us. You know he will. Don't worry." He rubbed her arm reassuringly. She smiled and rubbed her hands together in front of the fire. They sat there most of the morning trying to get warm. Tony had wrapped Ziva in both jackets until about 1100 hours. She was warm by about noon and they started to walk around and place markers along the banks of the stream to signal their position. It was all they could do to try making their presence known to the outside world.

Though Ziva had been cold the previous night Tony hadn't been concerned because it was dark and cold and it was to be expected. When she hadn't been able to stop shivering that morning, however, he had become very worried, not that he would ever tell her that. When he thought back she had been wearing her jacket more than usual and had seemed tired. He was scared there was something terribly wrong that she was hiding from him and he didn't want to get himself killed by a paperclip so he wisely chose not to press the matter. That didn't stop him from rationing his water more and trying to notice everything she did that was out of the ordinary.

By the end of the day he only had a handful of examples. She didn't seem as physically fit as she was, she was always cold, her endurance seemed to be fading, and her temper seemed to be less pronounced. That night when they went to sleep Tony pulled Ziva close to him and tucked her legs up close to her body and wrapped them in both jackets. He had surrounded her with his arms in an attempt to keep her as warm as possible.

The next morning was sunny and clear. It was cool but not as cool as the previous morning. Tony counted and it was Monday morning. He took a deep breath and smelled Ziva's shampoo. She was still asleep. He thought that he was up very early so he went about making a fire while humming random songs about Mondays. He checked his watch and realized that it was already 0900 by the time he got the fir going and Ziva was still asleep. He walked over to where she lay and picked up her hand; it felt clammy.

"Ziva… Sweetcheeks. Wake up. It's 0900. You're totally gonna kill me for letting you sleep." He called while shaking her slightly. She still didn't wake up. He moved his hand up to touch her face and immediately withdrew it. She was burning up. He was no doctor but even he knew that was not a good sign. Tony grabbed the jackets and pulled them off her. They landed in a heap on the other side of the lean to. He took off her shoes and socks and somehow managed to get off her sweater. She laid there on the ground, on a cool spring morning in Washington in a white t-shirt, jeans and no shoes.

Tony did the only thing he could remember from his childhood; he went to the stream and soaked a folded up shirt in the cold water and laid it on her forehead. He might one day in the very distant future tell her that he had been scared, but he would never tell her that he was terrified. He knew he needed to help his friends find them. He walked in a spiral out from the campsite trying to find a path or a clearing or a large open hill or anything that could help him signal a search party. During his trek he could always see the camp or a marker he had made to prevent him from getting lost. Then he saw it. There was a fairly open hilltop that would be a good place for signaling someone.

He traced his markers back until he could see the camp then he left markers along the direct route he took between his spiral path and the campsite. He packed everything into the bags. He was proud that they still had almost 3 bottles of water left and most of their clothes were intact. He stuffed the jackets back into their respective bags as well. Then he picked them both up and went about strapping them onto his back. He put one on properly and then widened the straps on the other one to piggy back it on top of the first. Then he tightened the straps as much as was comfortable to prevent slippage.

Tony bent down to Ziva and gently shook her to see if she would wake. Her eyes fluttered a bit but she remained unresponsive. He wet the shirt again and filled the empty water bottle with stream water. He would use that to keep her fever under as much control as he could. He stuffed the water bottle into his pants pocket and placed the shirt back on her forehead. He leaned down to pick her up and realized the problem. If he picked her up the shirt would fall and her fever would just go up faster. He moved his improvised cold patch onto her stomach where it would rest safely as he carried her.

Tony slid her knees into a bent position and crooked one arm under them then carefully held her head with the other. When he lifted her she felt lighter than he remembered. Tony tried desperately to ignore his partner's obvious lapse in health while focusing on the impending problem of death by wilderness. So he followed the trail he made as carefully as he could. He didn't care how long it took him to walk there as long as she was safe.

_Look into my eyes - you will see  
What you mean to me  
Search your heart - search your soul  
And when you find me there you'll search no more _

The song kept playing in Tony's head, over and over. He began to whisper it to Ziva. It was his proverbial 'I think I can. I think I can.' and he wouldn't stop until he proved it.

_Don't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
You can't tell me it's not worth dyin' for  
You know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you _

He sighed heavily as he climbed the hill. _'I hope she knows. I hope she knows what I would do for her.'_ Tony thought as he whispered and walked.

_Look into your heart - you will find  
There's nothin' there to hide  
Take me as I am - take my life  
I would give it all - I would sacrifice _

Little did Tony know that everything he said to her permeated her dreams, some good and some bad. She was pleasantly dreaming of lying in her warm bed at home or curled up on the couch with pizza and a god movie and Tony.

_Don't tell me it's not worth fightin' for  
I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more  
Ya know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you _

Tony would never knowingly let anything happen to her. He had to make sure she was alright, even if he was the one in need of saving.

_There's no love - like your love  
And no other - could give more love  
There's nowhere - unless you're there  
All the time - all the way _

Ziva could hear him, but it was as if he were in a different world. He had no idea but she knew; at least now she knew.

_Oh - you can't tell me it's not worth tryin' for  
I can't help it - there's nothin' I want more  
I would fight for you - I'd lie for you  
Walk the wire for you - ya I'd die for you_

Ya know it's true  
Everything I do - I do it for you 

Tony breathed a huge sigh of relief as he finally reached the top of the hill. There were trees on all sides but the hill was clear. He made a spot in the shade and set Ziva down softly. He moved the wet shirt back to her forehead and then removed the backpacks. He searched for their cell phones inside, hoping against all hope that there would be cell service, but he couldn't find the phones. The pocket they were in was open. If Gibbs had been there he probably would have said that the phones were stolen because coincidences don't exist. But if Anthony Dinozzo had to choose he would go with the less complex answer: they simply fell out.

Tony started a fire to signal someone and once he got it going he heard a slight noise coming from where Ziva was sleeping. He rushed to her side. She was even more feverish than before but now she was muttering in her sleep. He laid the wet shirt on her head and tried to stop her wild twisting. She started talking out loud to him. Yelling for him.

"TONY! TONY! It's hot! Give me an arm!" He held her head and shoulders in his lap trying to soothe her, wetting her face again and again. She slowly got quieter and began jabbering away to herself in Hebrew. She slowly fell into a fitful semblance of sleep when Tony heard the unmistakable sound of a low flying helicopter.

He set her down on the backpacks and rushed to the center of the clearing, stoking the fire and lighting a stick to wave in the air. He managed to get the attention of the pilot. Tony could tell immediately that it was there to rescue them, that Gibbs had done what he always did: the impossible. He had sent rescue choppers over the woods to search for them. A medic rappelled down the cable and onto the ground with a harness and cable for Tony quick at his heals.

"Hop in!" The man yelled over the roar of the chopper blades.

"I don't leave 'til she's safe!" Tony yelled back, gesturing at the somewhat sleeping form of his partner beneath the trees. He nodded and called the situation into the medics in the chopper from the walkie talkie attached to his shoulder. The basket slid down a new cable. Tony ran to her, lifting her like a doll. He carefully placed her in the basket and the medic strapped her in. Tony walked backwards to where the bags were, watching the basket land safely in the chopper. He turned picked up the backpacks and ran back to where his harness was waiting.

Inside the chopper, on the way to the hospital Ziva's fever began to spike again. Tony held her hand, there was an IV depositing lost fluids in her arm, but none of it could stop the fever from raging. She began muttering in Hebrew again.

"You must not have taken more than a few sips of water since you fell off grid to have kept her as hydrated as you did. It's not as well as she should have been but considering the circumstances I have to give you props, man. You guys must be close." Tony nodded.

"It's nice when your partner becomes your best friend. I wouldn't want to work with anyone else." He smiled down at her. She started talking again.

"Tony?"

"I'm right here." He squeezed her hand.

"Tony. I do not want to die. I want to tell you things and have more stories and see Abby and Jenny and Gibbs and McGee and Ducky and Lee and even Palmer. Thank you for not letting me die. Thank you, Tony. I love you." She clamped her hand over her mouth but then started giggling like a little girl who had just told a big secret. He held her hand tighter. He wasn't sure if she knew what she was saying or if it was true.

"Um, about these random delirious fits?"

"No she has no idea right now what she is saying and she probably won't remember when her fever breaks and she's lucid again. But…it has been shown that in almost all cases these feverish outbursts are true. It seems like the fever un-inhibits the patient. She will say what she thinks or has thought before but would never say aloud."

"So you're telling me that she means everything she just said, but she won't remember saying it?"

"No. I'm saying she probably means it." Tony nodded and held Ziva's hand tighter as they descended onto the roof of the hospital.

**Note: I'm really sorry again that this took so long. I had the wedding and the first week of school and the exploding computer. But I will try to update on Firday nights instead of Sunday afternoons from now on. It's just that I wasn't home on Friday night.**

**Well the next chapter might be up sooner than that because I'm sad that it took so long for this one. And my new story **_**Against All Odds **_**should be up maybe even by then end of today or tomorrow.**


	9. Operation Rescue

**Well thank you all for the great reviews and yes my new computer is working very well. I was going to wait until I got a certain piece of work done but I realize that no matter what I do that won't be for a few days so I decided to write because I'm excited for the Bones premiere in a few hours. But for now I will turn myself to this story. **

**Note: This is occurring at the same time as the last chapter but it's through the eyes of Gibbs, Jen, Tim, and Abby who isn't on the west coast but I love her so I have to put her in.**

_**Chapter 9: Operation Rescue**_

It had been about 0100 when Gibbs returned to his room the previous night. He was up at 0530, though to shower and dress for the organizational meeting, drive to Woodland, and subsequent search for his missing agents. He had gone down to the coffee shop around the corner and bought two coffees, a donut, and a muffin, then walked back to the hotel and knocked on Jen's door. He saw the peephole go dark and then light again before the door opened and he was allowed entry.

Jen was not dressed in her usual Director attire. In fact she dressed a lot like Ziva did on a daily basis. She wore well fitting jeans and a form fitting t-shirt. A warm sweater was lying on her bed as if he had interrupted her whilst she was getting ready. By the look on her face he knew he had, but she really didn't mind and he knew that so he smiled and offered her the coffee and the muffin. She readily sipped at the coffee as she had barely slept more than four hours, same as him. She eyed the muffin warily.

"Is that fat free Jethro?" He gave her a look that said a few things. His eyes asked if she was kidding. His smile said that it wasn't and his furrowed brow begged the question 'How am I supposed to know that you want a fat free muffin?'.

"It's not like you need it Jen. Finish getting dressed. We've got to go get McGee and then drive into the field office." She laughed at his weird, backwards compliment and pulled her sweater over her head. She walked off to the bathroom to put her hair in a ponytail before returning to the table he had seated himself at. She threw her NCIS windbreaker on, attached her sidearm to her hip, her badge to her pocket, and grabbed her coffee and muffin before heading out the door with Gibbs at her heels.

It was 0620 and they were knocking on McGee's hotel room door. He opened it for them after checking the peephole. He was showered dressed and completely ready to go. Gibbs was a little surprised and very happy.

"You're up early." He stated simply, not showing his pride and amazement. Jen's expression didn't give hers away either. McGee shot them his own version of the death glare.

"Abby decided it would be a great idea to call me and ask for more information. Apparently when she's agitated or worried she forgets that people on the west coast get up 3 hours later!" He sighed and grabbed his gear. The three of them walked down to the car. McGee got in the backseat, Jenny rode shotgun, and Gibbs drove. They were at the field office by 0700.

They briefed and were briefed on the woods themselves and the specific areas they would be searching. Each agent was provided with a high tech GPS tracker, a long range walkie talkie, and a topographical map of the area. The scene would be processed quickly to look for footprints and tire treads. If any were found one team would follow them and radio in the findings. Then it was Gibbs' turn to brief the agents.

"First and foremost Agent Dinozzo and Officer David will be found alive. I have not given them permission to die. The main thing to be known about Officer David is that she has…special training. She is the NCIS liaison to Mossad. If you notice any movement or come across any sort of camp, identify yourself immediately. The director would probably be very upset if one of you managed to get yourselves injured or worse. I really don't care. As for Agent Dinozzo he is a damn good agent and is very good at surviving in adverse situations. They watch each other's six. If you don't find them together we have a serious problem. Notify me or the director immediately. We will be on channel 1. Medics are on channel 2. The control room, that would be where we are now, is on 3. The others are listed topographically on your maps. Go find my agents." The large group hesitated just long enough for Gibbs to notice the lack of movement. "Now!" Jen shook her head amused. No one was good enough for Gibbs, especially when the people he loved were in danger.

They grabbed the rest of their gear and got back in their car as the large group of other agents, local police, medics, state troopers and forest rangers got into their trucks and drove off. Less than 20 minutes later they had arrived at the turn off of the main road that had taken them into the woods in the first place. Everyone jumped from their trucks and were placed in their groups. Each group contained an NCIS agent, a forest ranger, and a medic. The other 1-2 members of the group were either state troopers, local police, or both. The main Vancouver team began the rapid processing of the car. Gibbs knew that Tony and Ziva would have had their backpacks in the car with them because they were returning to Vancouver when they had spotted the truck.

The team found a few important things that helped Gibbs and Jen piece together what had happened. First they noticed that the backpacks were gone which meant they had had time to take them out of the trunk or someone had taken them out of the trunk. Secondly the keys were not in the ignition. This began to prove to Gibbs that his agents had willingly left the car. The next thing was huge. The team had found a peanut and a corner of a peanut bag in the console. Tony had taken his food with him; that was just so Tony.

The next piece of evidence was more useful but was slightly disturbing. They had followed Tony and Ziva's shoeprints for a dozen yards or so back up the road where they stopped and met a set of tire treads that matched the set on Trevor Miller's truck. A pair of shoes hopped out of the truck and matched sizes with Trevor Miller as well. Tony and Ziva's prints had disappeared into the back of the truck. When walking back to the driver's seat a mark had appeared next to the shoes of Trevor Miller. The senior field agent, who's father-in-law was a gun collector identified it as the wooden stock of a twelve gauge shotgun. In the bushes a few yards away were Tony and Ziva's cell phones, smashed into little bits. Jen turned and leaned closer to Gibbs. He set his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"We'll find 'em Jen. You know that as well as I do. Ziva won't let anything happen to Tony. And Tony won't let anything happen to Ziva. They'll have their chance Jen. I promise. I might even let them break a rule or two if it makes you feel better." Jen chuckled. Gibbs and his rules. It was nice though, that he would bend or break a rule for her, even if she was the reason for the rule.

The day went by slowly. The search parties had turned up next to nothing and the tracking team had followed the tracks all day with nothing to show for it. Rescue and medic choppers had been flying around searching clearings and streams for any signs of human activity. Once they thought they had seen a brightly colored streak on the bank of a stream but when they went back to look they couldn't find it again. The only thing Gibbs could think of was the song Tony had played on Wednesday after they had closed their case. It was a sad reminder of what was at stake but it was also a kind of truth that kept him going.

_I took a walk around the world  
To ease my troubled mind  
I left my body lying somewhere  
In the sands of time  
But I watched the world float  
To the dark side of the moon_

I feel there's nothing I can do, yeah

Gibbs did feel helpless. He had tried to make Jenny let him help with the search many times but she stood firm that McGee was out with everyone else and he would be of more use at the search origin with her.

_I watched the world float_

_To the dark side of the moon_

_After all I knew it had to be_

_Something to do with you_

_I really don't mind what happens now and then_

_As long as you'll be my friend at the end_

_If I go crazy then will you still_

_Call me Superman_

_If I'm alive and well, will you be_

_There a-holding my hand_

_I'll keep you by my side_

_With my superhuman might_

_Kryptonite_

She would never say it but he knew; she wanted him there with her and the truth was he wanted her with him too. If they were gonna fix it they would have to fix it together. And he knew that if it came down to it, Jen would be there when ever he needed her so he would be there whenever she needed him. It was like payback for the future.

_You called me strong, you called me week_

_But still your secrets I will keep_

_You took for granted all the times_

_I never let you down_

_You stumbled in and bumped your head_

_If not for me the you'd be dead_

_I picked you up and put you back_

_On solid ground_

And that was what he had been doing all day. Whenever she lost hope and the status reports came back with nothing new he would respond on the Walkie for her. He made sure she ate lunch and drank water. When she was scared he was there. He was just as scared but he was also confident that Tony and Ziva would be alright.

It was late evening and it started to get cold. The forest rangers checked the positions of each team and coordinated pick up points across the forest. They took large trucks into the trees in all different directions. By dark all the teams were in their vehicles and headed to their hotels. The festival had ended that day and rooms began to free up in hotels and motels across Woodland and the surrounding towns.

Gibbs, Jenny, and McGee got rooms at the hotel Tony and Ziva had been at. Their room was still reserved but it felt weird if they took it. McGee took a room next to Gibbs whose room had a connecting door to Jenny's room. McGee had ordered some food and retreated to his room to talk to Abby on the phone for a bit.

"Hey Timmy. Did you guys find hem yet?"

"No not yet Abs. But they haven't been gone long and Tony took some peanuts with them, so they won't starve. We are continuing the search at first light. It's dark already and we can't see anything. Not good conditions for a search, Abby."

"But Timmy," she was using her evidence voice, she was about to tell him some fact that made her doubt them, "starvation will kill you after a few weeks of absolutely no food. Dehydration will kill you in a few days. I think that's a more pressing issue."

"Ab…" McGee stopped. He had seen something on the table with the ice bucket. It was a bottle of water. He got up and walked over to it.

"What Tim? What is it?" He read the letter on the table. It offered him the movie channels and complimentary water for each person registered to the room for each day of his stay.

"Free water. This hotel has free water bottles in the rooms."

"So what! What do free water bottles in your hotel room have to do with Tony and Ziva?!"

"I'm staying in the same hotel as them, and Tony will take anything that's free." Abby suddenly realized what he was getting at. They hung up and he went to tell Gibbs. Gibbs got the hotel manager to open Tony and Ziva's room. They counted the bottles on the table. There were four bottles. Two were delivered each afternoon when housekeeping came. Counting back there were four other bottles missing. The three were relieved when they figured that Tony had swiped four bottles of water and could keep him and Ziva hydrated for a little while. It comforted Abby too when McGee called her back.

After returning to their rooms Jenny and Gibbs got hungry. She knocked on the adjoining door and was answered with a loud 'It's open'. She entered and asked if he wanted to order room service. He agreed and they opened the menu. After ordering they sat for a little while at the table and talked about the case and the agents from Vancouver and how they reacted to having their director at their field office dressed just like them and looking even more concerned. Gibbs thought it was kind of funny. Their food arrived and they ate mostly in silence. It was a comfortable silence even though the general atmosphere of the day had been concern and tension. They had somehow always managed to find some sort of calm during a hectic day. It was their moment of clarity together.

"So Jethro, what's your thought about McGee and Abby?" Gibbs looked up. He wasn't surprised, in fact he had been expecting it. He shrugged and swallowed his food.

"Not surprising. As long as they keep it out of the office I won't complain and I'll let them keep thinking they're fooling me." They both smiled. Nothing ever did get past Gibbs. He just chose to ignore it.

"What about Lee and Palmer?" She smirked. She knew he hadn't caught them yet; he wouldn't know unless Ducky told him. He smirked back at her, he knew.

"I'll let Ducky handle it. He told me, asked for advice. I told him he should just start slapping heads but I'm not sure that would be effective on them. He said he'll do something about it, but for now it hasn't caused too much of a problem." Gibbs shrugged. He wasn't sure where she was going with this conversation but he was going to find out.

"What about Tony and Ziva?" They had discussed this earlier. He still couldn't tell what she was getting at but he played along.

"Like I said earlier, they'll have their chance and if Tony hurts her again, like with Jeanne, I'll kick his ass clear back to Baltimore PD and he can go do grunt work again. But I don't really think he could hurt her intentionally. He's an idiot sometimes but at least he doesn't know what he's doing." He had fixed her with a glare when he referenced Tony's undercover assignment. She nodded in agreement.

"What about us?" That was it. She had managed to steer the conversation to the one of their least favorite topics without any qualms from him. "We aren't getting any younger Jethro."

"I know Jen. We should do something about it then. Things shouldn't have ended the way they did in Paris." She nodded. There was more to it than that. He could see that it wasn't enough to acknowledge that they wished it had been different. They kept trying that over and over again with no new results. It was time to try a different approach.

"Do you think we can still change how things ended? Do you even want to?" His blues eyes looked into her green ones and she could see a softness in them that was rarely present in such an intense gaze.

"I love you Jen. You should know that. I always have, ever since our first mission together, and I always will." He leaned forward and softly kissed her. It was sweet and loving. The kind of love that developed over time. The kind that came with wisdom and mistakes and luck and hard times and with accumulated time. She smiled as he pulled away from her. It was better than the answer she had been expecting.

"I love you too Jethro. But for tonight I think we should get some sleep. Tony and Ziva will benefit more from us being well rested." He chuckled at her practicality. He cleared up the table and told her good night. She kissed him on the cheek and went back to her room.

They slept more soundly than they had in years. Jen was up at 0530 and had gone through the adjoining door to wake up Gibbs. She called his name and shook his shoulder. He woke easily and went to shower. When he came out, dressed and ready she was sitting in a chair ready to go get McGee. They were at the search origin by 0700 and the forest ranger trucks had taken the search parties back to their endpoints from the day before. Gibbs was expecting another day of nothing so his mind began to wander to a song Tony had played for Ziva. He had been singing it and she wanted to know what it was.

_This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us_

_It's time to make a move, I'm shaking off the rust_

_I've got my heart set on anywhere but here_

_I'm staring down myself, counting up the years_

_Steady hands, just take the wheel…_

_Every glance is killin' me_

_Time to make one last appeal…To the life I lead_

_Stop and stare_

_I think I'm movin' but I go nowhere_

_Yeah I know that everyone gets scared_

_But I've become what I can't be, oh_

_Stop and stare_

_You start to wonder why you're here not there_

_And you'd give anything to get what's fair_

_But fair ain't what you really need_

_Oh, can you see what I see_

Nothing felt right without them here. He kept wondering if Jen could feel it too. It seemed like the world would right itself and everything would go back to normal once they found Tony and Ziva.

_They're trying to come back, all my senses push_

_Untie the weight bags, I never thought I could…_

_Steady feet, don't fail me now_

_Gonna run till you can't walk_

_Something pulls my focus out_

_And I'm standing down…_

_Stop and stare_

_I think I'm movin' but I go nowhere_

_Yeah I know that everyone gets scared_

_But I've become what I can't be, oh_

_Stop and stare_

_You start to wonder why you're here not there_

_And you'd give anything to get what's fair_

_But fair ain't what you really need_

_Oh, can you see what I see_

Something was afoot and Gibbs could feel it. The day had begun to wind down and there was something different than the previous day. There was a buzz in the air. He looked over at Jenny and she seemed to sense it too. She eyes were alert and her director senses were on overdrive. The radio crackled.

"This is Medivac 4. Come in Director or Agent Gibbs."

"Go ahead Medivac." Gibbs spoke into the radio.

"We have located one of your agents. He's waving around a flaming stick." The medic proceeded to give the coordinates of the clearing. Gibbs only half listened.

"Have you located Officer David?"

"Um, no. Wait. He's pointing at something. to other team member Hand me those binoculars Frank. to Gibbs Yeah. She appears to be lying in the shade. Dinozzo just told our guy that he wouldn't leave until we got her in the chopper." Gibbs chuckled before replying. That was Dinozzo. Ziva would never know it but he did a whole lot for her.

"What's her condition?"

"I'll have it for you in five minutes." Gibbs waited. Sure enough, five minutes later the medic chimed back in on the main channel. "Agent Dinozzo is slightly dehydrated and hasn't had food in approximately 26 hours. Officer David is currently unconscious running a fever of 104.3. She has already gone into one delirious fit. Agent Dinozzo has been taking good care of her despite the current conditions. They will be at the hospital in 15 minutes Agent Gibbs." Gibbs thanked him and turned off his radio. He instructed the radio technician to send out the message that the search was called off and to have McGee sent over to the hospital once he returned.

Gibbs put his arm around Jenny's shoulders and led her to the car. She hadn't said a word since the medic had called saying they had found Tony. At first it was worry that Ziva was still missing, then it was elation that she was alright, then worry that she was sick or injured and now it was more worry. The reached the car and Jenny went to open the door but Gibbs moved her hand out of the way and spun her around, pinning her to the side of the car. He gripped her shoulders and spoke softly but firmly.

"Jen. You haven't said a thing. Are you okay?" She shook her head. "She'll be fine and you know that." Jen looked like she was about to cry. He loosened his grip on her shoulders and wrapped his arms around her.

"Jethro, that's not the only thing I'm worried about. The last time Ziva was delirious was when she was wounded in Cairo. I was with her. She told me things about Mossad and her father and her past that she would never have told anyone. Ari was more of a bastard than you would want to believe. She was pissed when she found out what she had said. She was angry with herself. I don't want Tony to have to go through that kind of anger. Angry Ziva is unpredictable." She was really afraid. Her friend was not only extremely sick, but would also be very angry and unpredictable after recovering.

"Jen, I will take care of everything ok? Don't worry about it." She nodded and he opened the door for her. She climbed in and so did he. They drove and drove until they reached the hospital.

**So that's my chapter. The next one should be what actually happens at the hospital and what's wrong with Ziva. Don't worry though, I don't kill my characters, unless I made them up and I don't like them, or maybe Vance in my other story. I haven't really decided yet. **

**The songs here were Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down and Stop and Stare by OneRepublic.**

**My next update might be mid week or the end of the weekend. It all depends on homework. If I do update at the end of the week chances are it will be on Saturdays because football season just started and my school's games are on Friday nights, so unless I post really late it will probably be on Saturdays. Thanks for the reviews guys. Please keep reviewing. It really does make my day.**


	10. Delirium

**Thanks for all the reviews and favorites and alerts guys! I really appreciate it, and it makes me smiled when I open my email and find all of them. **

**Note: This picks up with Tony and Ziva and then it brings in Gibbs and Jen and then McGee. It follows chapters 8 and 9 immediately but it starts with Tony and Ziva's side. So now we answer the burning questions. Hehehe**

_**Chapter 10: Delirium**_

Tony sat in the uncomfortable hospital issue armchair. He had been given a hot meal and a glass of cold water. He hadn't taken more than a few sips of water in two days. He would be fine and had been release but he stayed in Ziva's room. The nurses and doctors had protested that it wasn't hospital policy to let people who weren't family into ICU rooms but Tony had put on his best Gibbs act and managed to get in.

He finished his food and sipped at his water slowly. He didn't want to drink it too quickly and throw it all up. Sitting on that chair would have been worse, though, if he wasn't holding Ziva's hand. It could also have been better if Ziva weren't unconscious and ill. He just sat for a while. Occasionally he would raise her hand to his lips and plant a soft kiss on her knuckles. Tony sat back most of the time and rubbed small patterns onto the back of her hand while absently sipping his water and watching the hospital go by. He seemed to have sat like that for quite some time when the rustling of the ICU curtains to Ziva's room-ish curtained cubicle caught his attention.

Jenny and Gibbs walked into the room. Jen inhaled sharply when she saw Ziva's slender form lying weakly in the large bed. Tony got up from his seat next to her and hugged Jen lightly. He let go and Gibbs clapped him on the back. He looked upset but, surprisingly, not at Tony.

"Doctor said you took good care of her. You kept her fever down as much as you could, made sure she drank water, got found. That's a good job Dinozzo. She probably would have taken worse care of herself." Tony nodded.

"Thanks Boss. She was taking worse care of herself. She has a viral infection. It's in the final stages. There really isn't much we can do for her right now. The doctor said we just have to wait for her fever to break. He put her on a broad-spectrum anti-viral. It isn't very broad-spectrum, but it's the best they have." Gibbs nodded to Tony as Ziva began to speak.

"Is she waking up?" The senior field agent shook his head. There was a heavy silence as Jen and Gibbs realized what was going on.

"Tony?! Where are you?! Where is Tali? Where is Abby?" She didn't sound like herself. Not only did her voice sound weak but her words were so pleading that she seemed so unlike the Ziva they knew.

"I'm right here. What's wrong?"

"Ari. He knew about the bombing. I am glad he is dead. He did not tell Tali not to go that way home. He knew the bomb would blow there. He did not tell her. It is his fault my sister died." Tony was shocked at this revelation. He was glad that his boss had shot Ari when he had the chance. "I am glad I killed him." Ziva killed Ari? He looked to Gibbs whose face was hard as steel. Ziva would explain it all to him in time. Tony never let go of Ziva's hand.

"What else has she said?" Jen was curious.

"She said she wanted to tell me things and to make more memories and to talk to the rest of the team. She didn't want to die because of that. Then she told me she…" He swallowed hard before continuing. "that she loved me." He looked back at her and squeezed her hand gently. Jen and Gibbs seemed to understand. They said they had to get McGee and go debrief the search crew. They would be back in 45 minutes.

Tony sat in the chair and hummed a little. Then he started singing to Ziva hoping she would hear him and wake up.

_And I'd give up forever to touch you  
Cause I know that you feel me somehow  
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be  
And I don't want to go home right now _

He kissed her knuckles again. He wouldn't leave the hospital without her, no matter how much Gibbs told him he had to.

_And all I can taste is this moment  
And all I can breathe is your life  
Cause sooner or later it's over  
I just don't want to miss you tonight _

'_She has to pull through this. She just has to.'_ Tony thought defiantly.

_And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am _

He wanted her to wake up and see that he had been there the entire time. He wanted her to wake up and talk to him again. He felt weird not having her talking to him or yelling at him about worrying.

_And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming  
Or the moment of truth in your lies  
When everything seems like the movies  
Yeah you bleed just to know your alive _

And it did. It felt like a movie in slow motion. He couldn't fight the truth of why he was sitting there or the self-directed anger at letting her take such poor care of her health for so long.

_And I don't want the world to see me  
Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am _

It was late by the time Gibbs, Jenny, and McGee came into the room. Tony was fast asleep on the chair, his head lying on the side of her bed, holding her hand. He looked surprisingly comfortable; he was peaceful even in this turmoil and his face showed that his subconscious knew she would be alright. They silently decided to leave them both for the night.

McGee discretely took a picture of them before lightly rubbing Ziva's shoulder in assurance. He left the room and Jenny went up to give her friend the lightest hug and hand squeeze. She waited by the door for Gibbs. He lightly slapped her head. Then he bent down and kissed the top of her head as a father would do to his daughter. It made Jenny smile. _'The kids don't like it when Mommy and Daddy fight.' Abby said._ Wow Abby had been right, they were the parents to this bunch. Gibbs drew away from them with a slight smile playing about his lips. Jen took his hand and gave it a slight squeeze. He looked down at her and nodded. From there they headed back to the hotel.

The night passed in a fair amount of peace for all. Jen and Gibbs had taken to watching a movie in her room. They both fell asleep before it was over. She was cradled in his arm with her head resting on his chest. They were calm, Ziva was safe, everything would be alright. They slept peacefully until morning. McGee had called Abby to tell her everything.

"Hi Timmy. Have you found them yet?"

"Yes we did Abby…" He was cut off by her high pitched squeal.

"Oh my God! Thank you Timmy! Thank you for calling. I was soooooo worried about them. Are they ok? Can they talk? Are they sleeping?" She waited expectantly for the answers to her many questions.

"Tony is in fairly good health, just a little dehydrated and needing of food but they took care of that at the hospital and he was discharged earlier. Ziva has a viral infection that she's been ignoring for a while. They're replenishing her fluids and trying to get her fever to break. She'll be fine but she's been going in and out of delirium all day. Tony stayed at the hospital with her. They can't really talk because I'm not at the hospital right now. And yes they were both sleeping when we left. I'll send you a picture in a bit." Abby seemed sad, worried, happy and relieved all at the same time.

"So they're gonna be ok right?" It was small and pleading like a little girl.

"Yes Abby. Ziva just needs to get rest and get her fever to break and she will be just fine. Tony is already just fine. He refuses to leave the chair next to her bed." Tom could hear Abby smile through the phone.

"That's good then! Anything else happen."

"Nope, oh wait. The Director and Gibbs are getting back together." Abby giggled happily.

"Really? I think I may just win the office pool. Yay!"

"There was an office pool for that?! I knew about the one for Tony and Ziva but why couldn't I get in on the one for Gibbs and Director Shepard?"

"Sorry. It was recent. You know, its really late here Timmy. I'm gonna go to bed. Call me in the morning."

"Alright Abs. Talk to you later. Good night. Sweet dreams."

"You too Timmy. Night."

"Love you." He thought she had hung up already.

"Love you, too" Apparently not, but he wasn't complaining.

The night at the hospital passed in very much the same amount of peace. It was good news and progress all around. Ziva was sleeping and her body was finally fighting off the infection successfully. Tony had replenished most of his fluids and had eaten. So he was sleeping calmly. He felt safe for the first time since they had followed that truck down the dirt road on Saturday. It was now late Monday night and they were safe.

In the wee hours of the morning Ziva's fever began to break. After this her temperature began to fall toward somewhat normal. She had been 104 the whole night but by 0645 she was down to 101.5. She was awake now. She remembered very little f being in the woods or how she got into the hospital. She remembered Tony singing to her though. She remembered being cold and sleepy all the time. She couldn't remember what was wrong with her though.

Tony's head was lying near her thigh. In her semi-upright position she could reach it easily with the hand she had extricated from his grasp upon waking. She had smiled when she noticed who was by her bedside and that he had been there all night. She absently ran her fingers through his hair as she herself began to hum and softly sing to him.

_Take time to realize,  
That your warmth is. _

_Crashing down on in.  
Take time to realize,  
That I am on your side  
Didn't I, Didn't I tell you.  
_

She would always be on his side. The movement and sound of her being awake was starting to draw him out of his sleep. She was too preoccupied to notice. Today she was not Ziva David, Mossad Officer and NCIS Agent. Today she was Ziva David, woman. It was a nice change for her.

_But I can't spell it out for you,  
No it's never gonna be that simple  
No I cant spell it out for you_

If you just realize what I just realized,  
Then we'd be perfect for each other  
And will never find another  
Just realized what I just realized  
We'd never have to wonder if  
We missed out on each other now.

His eyes were slightly opened and he was listening now. She sang softly in little more that a whisper but he could hear her just fine. He felt safe and so did she. She was opening up.

_Take time to realize  
Oh-oh I'm on your side  
Didn't I, didn't I tell you.  
Take time to realize  
This all can pass you by.. Didn't I tell you  
_

He tried not to show that he was awake. He knew if she thought he was awake she would freeze up again and he would never get his chance. If Gibbs and Jenny got a second chance by being forced together at NCIS then this was his second chance to tell Ziva everything and he wasn't sure he would ever get another one.

_But I can't spell it out for you,  
No its never gonna be that simple  
No I can't spell it out for you._

If you just realized what I just realized  
Then we'd be perfect for each other  
Then we'd never find another  
Just realized what I just realized  
We'd never have to wonder if  
We missed out on each other now.

She saw him start to wake but for some reason she kept singing. She wanted to finish the song before he was fully awake. She wanted to tell him everything but first she needed to know what had happened.

_It's not always the same  
No it's never the same  
If you don't feel it to.  
If you meet me half way  
If you would meet me half way.  
It could be the same for you._

If you just realized what I just realized  
Then we'd be perfect for each other  
Then we'd never find another  
Just realized what I just realized  
We'd never have to wonder  
Just realized what I just realized  


She was done and he was fully awake, looking up at her from his position on her bed. He slowly sat up and she withdrew her hand suddenly. Before she could pull it back and force herself to be reserved he caught it in his left hand. His right traveled up to her face to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. He held her hand in both of his. She seemed so much smaller and frailer than he remembered. She seemed to want her hand back but he wasn't letting go.

"Morning Ziva."

"Good morning Tony. What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"You curling me up under the jackets because I was cold. It was Sunday night. What day is it?"

"Tuesday morning." He cringed. He knew she would not like missing a whole day.

"What happened to Monday? Didn't I wake up? What happened Tony? Am I injured or something?" She seemed increasingly worried about not remembering.

"Ziva, relax. The reason you can't remember is that you were…asleep" he chose his words carefully to avoid alarming her again. "I woke up yesterday and you were still asleep so I got a fire going and I looked at my watch and it was 0900 and you were still asleep and you wouldn't wake up. You were burning up Ziva. You've had a fever of one hundred and four all night long." She nodded looking ashamed that she was so worried. He understood her worry though and was upset that she was ashamed.

"Oh." It was one syllable that set him off.

"No! You are not going to be ashamed that you were worried about a viral infection that put you in the hospital and scared me to death. That is a very good thing to be worried about!" She looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes. She felt safe even though he was yelling at her. She nodded quietly.

"How was I when I, you know?"

"You were asleep most of the time. You felt really light to me when I carried you up to the hill we were found on. But you were delirious for a little while. Mostly you were mumbling in Hebrew but sometimes you would call me." she looked terrified and angry now.

"What did I say? Do not leave anything out."

"Well first you said that it was hot. Then you said that you did not want to die because you wanted to tell me things and see everyone and then you thanked me and told me you loved me. Figured it was the delirium talking. I'm not exactly the best person in the world to you a lot of times." He smiled weakly. He was trying to give her an escape route if she wanted it. She looked like she wasn't ready to answer yet so he continued. "The only other time I could understand you was when you were talking about Ari. You said that he was the reason your sister died. You said you were glad he was dead and that you killed him. Ziva, I'm confused. I thought Gibbs killed Ari." Ziva looked like she wanted to cry.

"I can not believe I said that. Yes Tony, I killed Ari. I know that is what you are most concerned with right now. You stayed just to ask if it was true. Yes I killed my own half brother." Tony was taken aback. He stood over her angrily. She had seen Tony annoyed many times but angry was not an emotion she had ever seen. Surprisingly she found herself actually scared. She was scared that she had managed to make him so angry. She did not like it.

"I stayed here because I am worried about you Ziva! I stayed here in this hospital room on a chair because I care what happens to you! Don't you get that? I love you Ziva! I was terrified when you fever kept rising! I don't care how angry you're going to be at yourself for something you can't control; I'm going to be right here taking care of you, even if you don't want it, because of that Ziva!" Tony didn't care that he had just told Ziva the secrets he had chosen to take to the grave. He was angry that she could even say that he was only there to see if she really killed Ari. He backed away from her and sat down in the chair again. He looked at her with eyes filled with emotion. He was angry, yes, but there was concern, worry, relief, fear, and love all mixed into his bright eyes that felt like they would soon fill with tears. He fought back the urge and continued to stare at her.

Tears filled her eyes and she didn't care if they fell or not. He loved her and she had made him so angry. This made her upset and sad. It was one thing to make someone angry by saying something to them they do not deserve but to make someone who loves you and who you love angry because you say something you do not mean is another thing entirely. She tried in vain to force her body into a more upright position to talk to him.

"Tony?" she said meekly as if it were a question to see if he would respond. He did. He looked her in the eyes and she saw the conflict he couldn't hide. This produced renewed tears as she held out her hand, beckoning him over. He stood up and took it. She pulled him over to sit on the bed with her. The tears streaked down her face as she spoke, her voice cracking and shaking at some points. "I am sorry Tony. It is just that I say so many things that I do not want people to know when I have no control over what I am saying. But I always tell the truth when I can not tell my brain to lie. I love you Tony. More than you know. I remember you singing to me. I have never felt safer." She looked up at him hoping that her words were right.

He held onto her hand a little longer before taking one of his away to cup her face. He bent down to kiss her but stopped. "Are you sure? I'm not exactly the best guy in the world when it comes to commitment and once I kiss you, there's no going back." She nodded with a smile, she wanted to laugh at him. Sure he had dated other girls but he had never asked for another partner and he would have denied any that was thrown his way. He was committed to her as a partner. He closed the distance between them.

He captured his partner's lips in his. The kiss was soft, sweet, loving, nothing like when they were undercover. He held her hand tightly even after he had pulled away from her face. She had told him that she would like to sit up because lying down like that was not comfortable. The nurse had given him instructions the previous night about the angle of her bed once she was awake. She was not allowed to lie flat due to the chance of pneumonia following the virus. She also should not sit up until she was stronger. Briefly explaining this to Ziva Tony had an idea.

He cradled her back in his arm before lowering the bed. Still holding her up he slid in behind her and laid her head on his chest. She was at roughly the same angle as before but was now able to turn and curl up into his chest. He had no idea how much better it made her feel. She was safe and comfortable and could breathe in his smell. She buried her face in the crook of his neck and fell asleep almost immediately. Tony grabbed the remote and turned on a movie. He turned the sound way down and put on the captions. He spent very little time on the movie as he was watching the love of his life sleep in his arms. Her forehead was much less warm than it had been the previous day and it was not even as warm as it had been when she had woken up. It was nearly 0800 and she was still sleeping soundly against his chest. There was a light tap on the door. Tony said to come in. When it opened he pressed a finger to his lips and pointed at his partner's sleeping form. Jenny, Gibbs and McGee filed into the room. Jenny looked at them smiling. Gibbs looked at Jen and put his arm around her waist. McGee raised an eyebrow at his coworkers' blatant display of affection and Tony's significant lack of a wound from the sleeping figure in his arms.

"She was uncomfortable Elflord. She's not allowed to lay down flat or to sit up yet. Is it such a crime to make her comfortable?" McGee grinned and chuckled a little to himself. Jen had told him what Ziva had said and apparently Tony had replied. "She was awake earlier. Her fever's broke. It's down to like 100.4 now or something." He was whispering over her head, but his breath tickling her features must have woken her up. She was now smiling and trying to tuck herself into Tony's chest more. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed her back up and down in long soothing strokes. She blinked a few times and looked up at him then out at their audience. She smiled weakly.

"Hey guys." She tried to sit up to say hi to them but was stopped by Tony who gave her a look reminding her that she was not allowed to sit up. She surprisingly complied, she did not really feel up to it anyway. "Good to see you all."

"Good to see you awake David. Next time I say, 'proceed at own risk' I'm saying 'no'. They all laughed.

"When you feel up to it, call Abby. But not till you're feeling stronger. She can wait." Ziva smiled and nodded knowingly.

"Ziva would you be alright with an agent coming in to take your statement now? He took Tony's yesterday, and it would help us close the case quicker."

"Sure. I do not mind." Jen call the agent in from the hall. He took her statement and left them alone. Jen went up and hugged her friend.

"The Vancouver office is taking over for us from here. We're flying back to D.C. in a few hours. Tony would you mind staying with her and escorting her back once the hospital clears her?" Jenny asked her agents. Tony looked down at Ziva who seemed to be very awake now. He nodded slightly to not bump into her had which was still tucked under his.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He grinned the first real Dinozzo grin he could remember since the day they had arrived.

**Ok so here is the chapter I promised. I know that this one is kinda long but I'm making up for the fact that there will be only one or two more chapters. I don't know how long they will be. I think there will just be one more chapter as an epilogue. I know that in this chapter my medical stuff is not nearly as accurate or specific as it could be, but I decided to make it generic. There are not many anti-virals out there, I know. I really just needed the symptoms for my story so I went to WebMD and checked it. It gave me a few diagnoses and I liked the viral infection.**

**Songs are Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls and Realize by Colbie Callait**

**Thanks for reading and please review and let me know what you think. **


	11. Going Home

**I'm sorry it took this long for me to update. I've had a lot of homework and there was a football game. We won, 53-0 or 56-0. Something like that. Um well this chapter begins four days after the end of the last chapter. So now it would be Friday morning and I will make sure that I include everyone's perspective.**

_**Chapter 11: Going Home**_

Abby was bouncing off the walls with excitement. Today was the day Tony and Ziva were coming home. Gibbs had told Tony the previous night that Ziva was ordered to stay with him until she was fully recovered. They all knew she wouldn't take very good care of herself, she didn't like being sick and she liked treating it even less because that meant she knew she was sick.

"Timmy! They're coming home today!"

"Yes Abby. I know. I'm excited too."

"You should be. Abby, would you like to come with me. We need to make sure Tony's apartment is clean before they get back." Jen had walked in on their conversation. "Jethro said he picked his apartment because of his movies. I don't think that Ziva would like being forced to stay at Tony's if it hadn't been cleaned in a few weeks. And I think he needs some groceries." Abby jumped at the chance to do something to prepare. Something where her enthusiasm about their return was useful. She hopped off her chair, kissed Tim on the cheek, and followed Jen to the elevator.

"So you ready for Dinozzo and David to be back yet?" Gibbs had just walked in. Tim hadn't seen where he came from, but he had a suspicion it was the Director's office. Abby had won the pool when they got back and used the money to have a really nice dinner with him. Their relationship was what it had once been and they were very happy. He looked his boss in the face.

"Yeah, it's been a little quiet around here lately. How did Ziva take to the idea of having to stay with Tony for a while?"

"Better than I expected. She wanted me to think it bothered her. It doesn't. Tony's pretty happy about it too." Tim looked at his boss curiously. He was practically helping them to break the rules. "That rule has been changed. New rule # 12: Keep it out of the office." Tim laughed, second chances seemed to have changed Gibbs. And he didn't mind it one bit.

Gibbs smiled his trademark grin, one that even touched his eyes and made them sparkle. Jen watched them from the catwalk and smiled. He could feel her gaze and looked up at her with another smile. She chuckled and shook her head as she descended the stairs into the bullpen. Gibbs put one arm around Jenny and checked his watch on the other.

"Dinozzo should be calling in less than an hour. Their flight leaves in about two. Listen for the phone. I'm going for coffee. You want anything, Jen?" She shook her head, he pecked her on the cheek and walked to the elevator.

_Washington State. 0800 PST._

"Morning Ziva! You're being discharged! We get to go home!" Tony cheered as he walked into her room. She wasn't on the bed. Right before he started to panic she walked in from the bathroom, dressed and ready.

"I know Tony. You can stop shouting." She tried to look annoyed but the obvious amusement in her voice gave her away. He grinned at her.

"But I'm excited. We get to go home. And you get to come stay at my place for 2-3 weeks." He said, declaring the last part in a tone that would have made him sound like a doctor had it not been for that goofy grin he couldn't seem to wipe off his face. She was happy too so she didn't use any of her usual threats about smacking the smile off his face.

She went for her bag but he was too fast. It was over his shoulder and he was out the door before she could protest. "The other one's in the car." He said over his free shoulder. Just then she popped up at his side, looking a little tired. He slowed his pace, kicking himself for forgetting that she should be taking it easy. She nudged his side with her elbow.

"I thought you said it would not become a habit of yours to carry things for me."

"Well maybe I decided to change that. I like being a gentleman to you, I'm just usually avoiding being injured by not showing you that." She laughed. It made her happy to think that Tony cared enough to want to do something for her, but his reason for not doing so was so true it was funny to her. The more she thought about it the more it made her laugh.

Tony stopped to look at her. "What's so funny?" His hilariously confused face made her laugh harder.

"You." She said simply. He cocked his head to the other side like a puppy dog trying to understand. She cracked up again. "You make like funny Tony." she finished when she finally caught her breath. "I have not laughed like that since, well I do not know. I think it was before, um, Jeanne." She sobered with her realization and the effect did not go unnoticed by Tony.

He bent down and kissed her forehead. "I picked you in the end. I realized that picking you was the smartest thing I could have ever done. And you know, I'll just keep picking you forever. You're stuck with me." She smiled again and hugged him tightly. As they parted he left his hand on her back and walked her to the car. They drove to the airport with the volume of the radio low. The silence between them was companionable, almost anxious to be home. A song came on the radio and Tony couldn't help but turn it up. He loved it.

_So many people gonna say that they want you,  
To try to get you thinking they really care,  
But there's nothing like the warmth of the one who has put in the time and you know he's gonna be there,  
Back your border when she knows someone crossed it,  
Don't let nobody put you down, who you're with  
Take the pain of protecting your name, from the crutch to the cane to the highwire_

He sang along a little. It was how he felt about Ziva. It was what they had been through. Injuries, fights, other men, other women, critics, climbing into rafters with bombs. The usual for them. He still couldn't help but think that she was probably the only person in the world he would follow up to certain death, if not by falling then by bomb. Maybe Gibbs, but it was unlikely.

_I'm in love with a girl who knows me better,  
Fell for the woman just when I met her,  
Took my sweet time when I was bitter,  
Someone understands,  
And she knows how to treat a fella right,  
Give me that feeling every night,  
Wants to make love when I wanna fight,  
Now someone understand me,  
I'm in love with a girl(I'm in love with)  
I'm in love with a girl(I'm in love with)_

She was smiling now. She could tell by the look in his eye and the way his hand had went to the gear shifter and not the steering wheel after changing the volume. He was deciding whether or not to rest his hand on her leg. He did, bracing for impact but it never came. Instead Ziva decided to set her hand on top of his and bop her head to the music.

_Out the many broken backdoors and windows,  
Through the valley of the love of the lost,  
Is a hole that is cut through the souls falling down from the thrones without leaving any windows,  
But you drown in a piece for the moment,  
The moment was over in time,  
Then it's gone the hit and run the tactless one has a short life  
_

Through all their trials and tribulations they had finally stopped beating around the bush and wasting precious time with each other. They pretty much had Gibbs' permission anyways. Tim would just put it in his next book, Jenny would be happy and Abby would be exuberant. All of that was a given so they had nothing standing in their way but each other. They couldn't help but wonder what had made them wait so long.

_I'm in love with a girl who knows me better,  
Fell for the woman just when I met her,  
Took my sweet time when I was bitter,  
Someone understands,  
And she knows how to treat a fella right,  
Give me that feeling every night,  
Wants to make love when I wanna fight,  
Now someone understand me,  
I'm in love with a girl(I'm in love with)  
I'm in love with a girl(I'm in love with)_

Gonna tell you what you do to think you practice what you preach,  
Now I know there's nothing we can't reach,  
'cause the heart can't erase once it finds a place to be warm and welcome,  
To be held in shelter

I'm in love with a girl who knows me better,  
Fell for the woman just when I met her  
Took my sweet time when I was bitter  
Someone understands,  
And she knows how to treat a fella right  
Give me that feeling every night  
Wants to make love when I wanna fight  
Now someone understands me  
I'm in love with a girl(I'm in love with)  
I'm in love with a girl(I'm in love with)  
I'm in love with a girl(I'm in love with)  
Who knows me better  
Wants to make love when I wanna fight  
Now someone understand me 

Oh yeah, fear. Fear of rejection. Fear of losing their best friend. But without that fear they were happier than they had ever been.

They pulled up to the airport rental car agency. Ziva returned the keys and Tony got the bags. They checked in and got their boarding passes. After making it through security they had about forty minutes before their plane boarded.

"Shit." One syllable, half under his breath. Ziva looked up into his face. He was pulling a phone from his pocket. "We forgot to call Gibbs. We'll call now." He dialed the number and waited for his boss to pick up the desk phone.

"Gibbs." came the gruff answer.

"Hey Boss…we're at the gate."

"Dinozzo you were supposed to call half an hour ago. Did you forget?"

"Only for a second but then we were already going through security. So I waited until we were here. Hold on…" He shifted closer to Ziva and held the phone between them. "We're here Boss." There was a click and they were on speaker phone.

"Tony! Ziva! We're sooooooo happy you're coming home! And Director Shepard won the pool!"

"What pool?!" Tony asked annoyed and amused.

"Why would she win a swimming pool?"

"Not that kind of pool Ziva. It's where everyone puts their money together to et on the outcome of something, like football or relationships." She nodded and Abby continued at their silence.

"Well she picked April, and after a case. So did a lot of people though. A few of them bet that one of you would be injured or ill. She was the only one to choose you Ziva."

"I knew that you would have far more self control if Tony was injured than he would in the same situation. And that wasn't my only bet."

"How much did you win?" Tony asked curiously.

"I'd rather not say."

"Wow, that many people betting on us. Were we _that _blind?"

"Yes!" came the unanimous answer.

"Well it's been fun chatting with you all but our plane will be boarding soon. See you guys in a few hours."

"Bye guys. See you soon." Ziva added. The rest of the team said goodbye and waited. Tony and Ziva got on their plane and took off the same way thousands of people did every day. Ziva was tired though. She lifted the arm rest that separated her seat from Tony's and leaned onto his shoulder. It was warm and comfortable. He moved a little in his seat and she slid into the crook of his neck, comfortably laying there as she quickly drifted off.

Tony was not as tired as she was and read the magazines in the pouch in front of him for most of the plane ride. He took to watching her sleep the rest of the time though. He shook her slightly as they began to descend into Ronald Reagan. She looked up at him with still drowsy eyes. It was best that she was still tired. It was nearly 2300 hours local time and she should be resting. He set his hand on her knee and rubbed it reassuringly. She knew that he meant she would be asleep at home in a comfy bed soon.

The plane landed fairly smoothly, they'd had better and they'd had worse. Tony was up almost the second the flight attendant had told them they could. He grabbed the bags from the overhead compartment with one hand and Ziva's hand in his other. He managed to lead her through the craziness with relative ease and they were out waiting for their bags before they knew it. He reached for Ziva's black duffel bag at the same second that a loud noise rang out from behind them. They both looked up.

"There they are!!" Abby was running over to them with Tim, Gibbs, and Jenny in tow. Tony felt the fabric of the bag's handle pulling on his fingers. He looked down and the bag was being pushed from his grasp by a set of golf clubs. He pulled the bag off the carousel and looked around for his own. It was at the end of the line so he turned to say hi to Abby before it arrived. She let go of Ziva who had been hugged fiercely while Tony was pulling the bag away. Abby latched her arms around Tony's neck and squeezed, muttering something about being worried.

Gibbs noticed Tony's bag going by and Tony being restrained. He stepped over and pulled the bag free of a large leather suitcase. He set it down on the floor. Abby let go and Jen hugged him, then Ziva. Tim made due with a handshake-hug for Tony and a light hug for Ziva. Gibbs headslapped them both.

"For breaking rule #12 Boss?" Gibbs shook his head.

"For being reckless. Rule #12 hasn't been broken yet." They looked at him wondering what in the world he was talking about. He knew as well as they did that there was some serious dating of co-workers going on. "New rule. Keep it out of the office." Tony grinned and put his hand around Ziva's waist; they weren't in the office. The team managed to pick up the bags for Tony as he guided a very sleepy Ziva to his car. Even at the edge of sleep she continued to protest that she was capable of carrying luggage on her own. They set the bags in the trunk and said goodbye. They would come over the next day to check on them.

"I am just saying Tony that I would like to be treated as if I can take care of myself, because I can. All I want is to…" Tony cut her off with a finger pressed to her lips.

"Shhh, Ziva. You are almost asleep. Just get in the car, please, I will drive you back to my place, you can crash on the bed and I'll take the couch. We'll deal with it in the morning."

"Tony I do not want to get in the car. I want to talk about you treating me like I can not take care of my bags or my health or anything."

"I care about you Ziva and you have a tendency to forget that. Right now you need help but in a week or two you'll be fine. I know."

"But Tony…"She was rambling and he knew it. She was overly tired and the meds she was on were just making her more drowsy. Her stubborn nature kept her from giving in to sleep so she rambled to prolong the inevitable. In one fluid movement he placed his hands around her face and kissed her. Effectively silencing the protests. They broke apart and she kept silent. She knew he would win. He cared too much and she was too tired.

"Thank you. Now please just get in the car so I can take you home." He held the door open for her and she got in without another word. He closed the door and scrambled to the other side. He turned the key and drove off. They had pulled up outside his building and he was about to open his door when Ziva's tired voice came from the seat next to him.

"Thank you Tony." He smiled at her and got out of the car. He pulled then luggage from the trunk and carried it to the elevator. She unlocked his door and he followed her in. He set her things down in his bedroom and went to get a blanket and pillow for the couch. "Where are you going?" she asked. She had already changed into her pajamas and found Tony walking down the hall toward the living room.

"Couch." She just stood there.

"No. You can stay in the bed with me. Your couch does not look comfortable." He nodded quickly; it was a step in the right direction for their relationship. They had shared the bed in the hotel room out of force (or so they told themselves), the bed in the hospital out of comfort, and now she was asking him to stay with her.

They both climbed in and she backed up against his warmth. He slid his arm around her. They fell asleep a few moments later, together and happy at last.

**Ok there will be one more chapter. An epilogue of sorts. I'll try to get it to you as soon as I can. That may not happen until the weekend though. I have a DBQ due on Friday as well as a game against my best friend's school. So I'll try. Please review and let me know what you think. If you have any suggestions I'd be glad to hear them.**


	12. Epilogue

**I can not believe how long it has taken me to get this written. It's been sitting on my computer with just a title for longer than I care to admit. I've had a horrible case of writer's block for this story. I had no idea what I wanted to write. For some reason tonight I was inspired and so this was whipped out pretty quickly. I apologize that there is no song in this one but I didn't think it needed it and I didn't feel like looking for one. If there are any grammatical or typing errors I'm sorry for them too. I didn't really do a lot of proofreading. Though if something is glaringly wrong please feel free to inform me. And this chapter finally completes the story.**

_**Epilogue**_

Two weeks later Ziva was still staying at Tony's apartment, more out of habit than actual necessity, and she was still on mandatory deskwork until the doctors cleared her for duty. On that, hopefully final, day of light duty, Tony drove her to the doctor's office in the morning so she could have her follow up exam. She nearly skipped out into the waiting room with a smile and an enthusiasm that could almost match Abby's.

"He said I can go back to work!" she practically cheered, holding up the signed release that she was to file once she got into the office.

"Good," Tony replied with a grin. "Now you can stop moping around and wanting to kill me and start threatening to kill bad guys again." She punched his arm a little to happily, but linked her own around it a second later and headed out to his car so they could go to work.

It was a normal day at the office. Ziva filed her release form, she and Tony had lunch together, Abby came up to visit them, Jen came down to visit them, there was a lot of paperwork and cold cases. All in all, it was pretty much like the two weeks Ziva had spent on desk duty so her first real day back was a bit of a let down. But she was glad to be back on full duty nonetheless.

That evening at dinner Tony brought up something that had been bothering him all day. "Now that the doc's given you a clean bill of health, what are you going to do? Are you planning on moving back into your apartment or…" he asked, trailing off and not daring to get his hopes up.

Ziva chewed her pasta thoughtfully before swallowing and replying, "I do not know Tony. I had not thought about it. I have become very accustomed to living here." Feeling the slight flush of embarrassment rise on her cheeks, she ducked her head and continued eating. This was a complication neither of them had thought of. They weren't entirely sure they were ready to live together full time, but neither really wanted their living situation to change.

He gave a snort of mirthless laughter. "I know what you mean. I've gotten used to you being here, too." She gave a small smile back. And then, under his breath, Tony commented, "So much that I don't really want you to leave."

"Then you should just ask me to stay," Ziva replied, surprising him that she had heard.

With a flair of the drama he was always so good at, Tony walked around the table and knelt beside her chair. "Ziva David, will you move in with me?"

"You do not think we are moving too quickly?" she asked back, unsure of his opinion.

"I think a few years is enough foreplay."

With a chuckle, Ziva replied, "I agree. We could start moving things maybe this weekend, then?"

"Perfect." Tony stood just enough to slide his fingers into the curls at the nape of Ziva's neck and capture her lips in his own.

Now _this_ was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

**I'm sorry that this chapter is only Tiva, but that's just how it happened to come out. There is a poll on my profile for a new NCIS fic I'm writing. It's AU and Tiva and I can't decide the gender of their kid, so you should go check out the poll for more info and vote with your opinion. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing and everything you've all done that is soooo kind. It always makes my day.**


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